The Slug and the Fox
by Cmartin-Panda Productions
Summary: She was an orphan from the very beginning, raised by Tsunade and Shizune. They traveled the world as nomads, seeking out money for odd jobs and away from the bloodshed and war of the Shinobi nations. But that all changes when they encounter Naruto Namikaze, the son of the 4th Hokage. Sakura soon realizes that she has more in common with this boy than she or her inner friend thought
1. Chapter 1

**This chapter is dedicated to cmartin's grandmother. May she rest in peace.**

 **Author's Note from Panda: Hey all you crazy kids, happy 2017. We know that you are all waiting patiently for the next chapter to one or more of our many get series (or two, if we're being honest) so instead of doing that, here is a brand-new series that isn't a crossover for once. Slug and Fox.**

 **This one I personally don't think will be another huge project. Not like Legacy of Heroes. But we'll see how people respond to it. If its popular, we can give it more attention, if not, well it is still a fun little story to write. Tell us what you think. Are the charaters too OOC? Is the premise too done before? Is this a fresh spin and you love everything about it?**

* * *

It was another beautiful day in the tourist trap known as Tanzuka, Fire. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and an omen of death hung in the air. For at that very moment in one of the city's many gambling halls. The Legendary Loser was actually winning at pachinko.

 **DING! DING! DING!** The machine rang as it spilled out a mountain of casino coins.

Sitting in front of the winning slot machine was none other than the Slug Princess Lady Tsunade, formally of the Leaf. She was a busty woman, with brown eyes, blond hair, a purple diamond on her forehead, and a face so beautiful, men would swear she was twenty. Not bad for a fifty-year-old woman using medical jutsu to change her appearance.

"Alright M'Lady!" Her assistant cheered. A dark haired woman with simple features and a modest body, beautiful in her own right, and was carrying a pig dressed in beads and a red vest.

"Yeah, way to go!" Her second assistant cheered, holding up her fist in a, "Hell yeah!" pose. She was the youngest women of the trio, a girl by all accounts, no older than 13. Her features were modest as well, you could call her pretty, but perhaps not cute. Her most striking features had to be her emerald green eyes, bubblegum pink hair, and large forehead.

"Keep it down, Shizune, Sakura!" Tsunade hissed. The Slug Princess narrowed her eyes as she looked back and forth down the rows of pachinko machines. Something wasn't right. Something felt off.

"Gather up the winnings. We're leaving." Tsunade ordered as she stood back up.

"Huh? Why?" Sakura asked.

"Don't question it." Shizune said as she put Tonton the pig down so that she could start collecting the winnings.

"Any time we can leave a casino with more money than we entered is a good time to leave." Shizune said.

Sakura raised her eyebrow at her surrogate older sister.

"But that's when your luck is highest. So you should keep playing until so you'll win more." Sakura said logically to her. Making Shizune sigh. Despite her best efforts, Sakura took to Lady Tsunade's gambling instincts.

"Just help me pick up the winnings, please." Shizune begged.

"Alright." Sakura sighed as she picked up as many coins as she could gather.

After trading in their coins for cash, the girls met outside the casino with cash in bags where Lady Tsunade was waiting for them. She was looking side to side down the road and holding her hand to her lip like she was nervous.

"Why the long face, Lady Tsunade? You won didn't you?" Shizune said as she hoisted up her bag of cash.

Sakura stood next to her in equal curiosity. This behavior was unlike her mentor, no matter how little she ever won anything.

"Lady Tsunade? What's wrong...?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Tsunade turned back to face her two pupils. A wave of concern washed over her face.

"I've got a bad feeling about this place. We're leaving the city right now." Tsunade declared.

"What? But I wanted to see Tanzuka Castle." Shizune protested. "It's supposed to be one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in the Land of Fire!"

"Fine! But let's get on with it!" Tsunade snapped back.

 _'Woah...I have never seen her this agitated before...'_ Sakura thought.

Shizune however didn't seem to care. It was a rare thong that she got to do what she wanted to do and she'd enjoy it, gosh darn it.

The two older women and Tonton walked ahead while Sakura slacked off behind to look up at the breeze. Try as she might, she couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling in the air either. It was like a chill had sweat through the city and she found herself subconsciously placing her hand on her chest where her seal was located. The seal she was forbidden to show any one that she didn't absolutely trust. And right now that consisted of exactly two women and a sweet little piglet.

"Sakura! Let's go!" Tsunade barked from down the pathway.

"Coming!" Sakura shouted back as she followed her family into the woods.

* * *

Several minutes later the women found themselves inside the Tanzuka castle compound where they could get the best view of the main structure. A six-story tall white marble castle made to withstand sieges waged by armies of 100,000 men. Now a tourist trap for the rare well-traveled civilian.

"Isn't this amazing?" Shizune praised as she gazed upon the structure. "It's so beautiful."

"Yea it's cool..." Sakura said simply. She really wasn't that interested in it.

"This castle was built over a thousand years ago. Back before there were even shinobi. And yet it's survived all the way to today." Shizune said after having read the free pamphlet provided to them at the entrance.

"Yes, this is all fascinating... can we hurry up?" Tsunade said impatiently.

"What's the rush? Looking is free." Shizune said. Before either women could respond however, the castle exploded into a gigantic plume of dust and rubble.

"AAAAH! THE CASTLE!" Shizune shrieked while Sakura and Tsunade took cover.

Thankfully the debris only fell into the main courtyard, not getting anywhere near the trio. The women all looked up to see a massive figure larger than the former castle itself stand tall, hidden behind the smoke.

 _'Is that a... snake?'_ Sakura thought as the dust began to clear. Revealing one more shocking thing. Standing on top of the giant purple snake were two figures, both male, one seeming much paler than the other. Almost as if his skin was bone white.

"Who is that?" Sakura asked. Her attention focused on the pale looking man with long black hair and a creepy stare that the pink haired girl could feel all the way down on the ground.

"Orochimaru..." Tsunade growled.

 _'The Snake Sannin.'_ Sakura realized. Lady Tsunade's teammate from back when she lived in the Leaf, before Sakura was even born. Tsunade had talked about him once. Said that he was a gifted ninja once that went bad. Now he was a rogue ninja, like M'Lady, only more twisted.

Sakura immediately spread her legs in a defensive stance as the duo leapt from atop their snake and landed right in front of Sakura and the others.

"Hello, Princess." Orochimaru hissed out in a voice that chilled Sakura to the bone. She observed him and noticed (thanks to Lady Tsunade's training) that he was not a well man. His breathing and heartbeat were irregular, his composure told her that he had a high fever and had been in constant pain for many days. What was most interesting were his bandaged arms. He seemed to let them simply sway in the breeze, as if he couldn't bring himself to lift them. _'And that other one...'_ Sakura thought as she eyed Orochimaru's companion. A young grey haired man with full moon spectacles. His eyes showed focus, like Shizune's. He was Orochimaru's assistant no doubt. Probably even a medical ninja like she was, only much more experienced.

"What do you want, you sick bastard..." Tsunade growled.

"My, my, Princess Tsunade, is that anyway to talk to an old teammate? And here I thought we were friends." Orochimaru chuckled.

"Save it, snake. I'm not in the mood." Tsunade spat. Sakura noticed that Orochimaru's assistant began to tense up at Tsunade's response. Probably not what he was hoping for.

"So hostile. And after all the trouble I went through to track you down." Orochimaru responded, keeping a cool and collected tone.

"What business could you possibly have with me? Don't even try to tell me you just wanna catch up..." Tsunade said, her eyes narrowing and her patience wavering.

Orochimaru chuckled as a wave of pain washed over him. "Actually I have a small favor to ask of you."

"Is that right?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"Yes. Lady Tsunade, you probably already know..." Orochimaru's assistant began, having noticed Tsunade's eyes running over Orochimaru's haggard body and coming to the same conclusion Sakura and Shizune had already made.

"Go ask somebody else. I gave up medicine a long time ago." Tsunade waved off.

"But we cannot. You must understand the severity of his wounds. No one else can heal his wounds." The assistant spoke up. "Nobody except you. You who gained fame as a medic specialist. One of the three great shinobi of legend, Princess Tsunade."

Tsunade looked closely as she saw Orochimaru's arms twitch. 'Those are no ordinary wounds. Some kind of curse mark or something...'

"What happened to you, Orochimaru?" Tsunade asked.

"Nothing much. Just a minor incident after I killed the 3rd and 4th Hokage." Orochimaru breathed out between waves of pain.

The women all froze. The man just admitted to murdering two Kages as easily as you would mention swatting a pair of flies.

"You did what?" Tsunade asked, her voice as cold as ice.

"Humph, no need to scowl, Princess." Orochimaru lectured. "All things must eventually come to an end."

Sakura felt her blood begin to boil. The way this man talked disgusted her. He was evil, that was for certain.

"You ought to know." Orochimaru added. "For you let the two people you loved most in the world...die."

Sakura felt herself being filled with rage. Shizune was about to attack Orochimaru with her hidden spring loaded poisoned needles when she felt Sakura's overwhelming chakra beginning to spike. All eyes turned on to the tiny pink haired girl currently emitting a kind of angry green chakra from her pores.

 _'What in the...?'_ Kabuto gasped as he looked at the girl currently being covered with nasty green chakra.

"SAKURA!" Tsunade barked to get her youngest apprentice's attention. Thankfully it was enough to snap Sakura out of her rage and force her secondary chakra system to recede.

Orochimaru couldn't help himself from chuckling some more. "Heheh, so it's true. You did manage to find yourself your very own jinchuriki to keep as a pet." The Snake Sannin laughed.

Sakura gasped. "A-a what...?"

"Oh ho... the poor thing doesn't even know what she is. Have you been keeping secrets from her, Princess? Why, that would make you no better than all those Hidden Villages you claim to despise, wouldn't it?" Orochimaru laughed.

"Wait...what's a Jinchuriki? I never heard of anything like that." Sakura asked.

"Be quiet, Sakura!" Tsunade barked. The last thing she needed was for her apprentice to speak with Orochimaru about anything. "And you..." She hissed.

"You always were a creep, Orochimaru." She gave a fake smile. "But you ought to know me better than that. You mock me." Tsunade smiled as she pounded her fist against the stone wall directly opposite her, smashing it into rubble.

"And I'll kill you...okay?" She whispered darkly.

All the non-Sannin in the vicinity sweat dropped. Tsunade's strength was something to behold and fear. Shizune and Sakura could attest to that.

 _'Oh man. Lady Tsunade is pissed now.'_ Sakura thought. Remembering back to the few times that she had misbehaved and was sent hurling through a tree trunk.

"Please, we didn't come here to fight. We came here to strike bargain with you." Kabuto said in meek desperation.

"Enough of your squabbling. I'll give you both five seconds to disappear before I smear you across these marble walls." Tsunade declared.

Sakura got back into her combat stance. She would need to protect Tonton and the money if things got ugly. She could fight, but Shizune and Lady Tsunade were definitely the more experienced ones.

She made a countdown in her head. _'5...4...3...2...'_

"I'm offering to bring your lover Dan and your little brother Nawaki back to life." Orochimaru spoke as a final trump card. "I've learned the forbidden jutsu."

The temperature in the air seemed to have dropped thirty degrees. Of the many taboo subjects to discuss when traveling with Lady Tsunade (among them were her weight and her age) the absolute most forbidden subject was Dan and Nawaki.

Sakura gulped. Did that snake even realize what he had offered Lady Tsunade? If it was Sakura...

"Does the fact that were both standing here whole and hearty mean that our offer is acceptable?" Orochimaru asked.

Tsunade gripped her green stone necklace in her hands to steel herself.

"Say that I do fix your arms? What are you going to do?" Tsunade spat.

"I hate lies, so I'll be square with you." Orochimaru said. "Along the way of acquiring what I desire...this time I'll annihilate Konoha once and for all." Orochimaru spoke in an icy tone.

"Lady Tsunade, you can't even possibly consider-"

"Silence Shizune!" Tsunade barked.

Sakura was taken aback. She had never seen Tsunade act like this. Her face was sunken and pointed at the ground. She looked so helpless.

"Please Lady Tsunade. Orochimaru is weakened. We can take him down together, the three of us." Shizune pleaded, only to earn another chuckle from Orochimaru.

Sakura looked over and saw the Snake Sannin biting his finger hard. His bandages soon grew red and began dripping with blood, which he held out for all to see.

 _'Oh no...'_ Sakura thought.

"Lady Tsunade! Please!" Shizune begged.

But Tsunade had frozen up at the sight of blood, her greatest fear.

 _'Shoot.'_ Shizune thought. She knew her boss would be useless now that she had seen blood.

"We do not expect your answer this very moment. We shall allow you one week's time to think it over." Kabuto spoke up, hoping to move this along before anyone happened to crash their little party. "This jutsu also requires two living sacrifices. So please have to people ready on your end. Male or female." Kabuto said, eyeing both of Tsunade's assistants. The girls were both taken back, but not as much as when Tsunade didn't stand up to their defense.

"I shall see you then, Princess." Orochimaru cackled as a parting goodbye before disappearing into smoke. Leaving the three frightened girls alone in the ruins of the castle.

* * *

Hours later, the women found themselves where they always found themselves after one of the Legendary Loser's rare winning streaks. Throwing it all away on cheap booze at a local dive bar.

"Yo mister! Nuther!" Tsunade barked as she held up her empty glass to the bar keeper.

"Lady Tsunade, please!" Shizune begged as the former medical queen of the Leaf made a drunken fool of herself in the bar. Sakura tried to focus her grilled eel, but her guardian always made a point of being one of the rowdiest drunk she had ever met. And unfortunately for the 13 year old girl, she had met a lot of drunks.

Ever since they had left the castle Shizune had been trying to talk to Tsunade about the deal Orochimaru had offered her, and why she should refuse it. How neither Tsunade's brother nor Shizune's uncle would have wanted the Leaf to be destroyed. And Sakura could see where Shizune was coming from, but another part of her sympathized with Lady Tsunade too much.

 _'What has the Leaf ever done for me?'_ Sakura thought. _'Who is to say that they don't deserve it?'_

If someone came and offered Sakura two loved ones brought back to life in exchange that they might attack a village Sakura had never been to... Well it was an easy decision. Sakura would have her parents back.

"What the Hell, Pervy Sage? This is a bar!" A loud and obnoxious voice declared from outside the inn.

"Great observation there, brat. This is also the best place to collect information on her whereabouts." A huge man said to his young ward as he entered the establishment. He had white hair as long as a lion's mane and red paint running down his eyes like tears. All while wearing a sage's outfit and green pants.

The boy on the other hand...

He was shorter, shorter than Sakura at least, with spikey blond hair, piercing blue eyes she could see from across the bar, and…whisker marks? He had three thin whisker marks on either cheek. Sakura wasn't sure if they were tattoos or birthmarks. Either way, he had the face of a whiney brat. He was handsome, sure, but the way his face was scrunched up in whining ruined that. He wore an orange jacket with matching pants, blue sandals, and had a Leaf ninja headband wrapped appropriately around his forehead.

 _'He's kinda cute, but he looks stupid.'_ Sakura decided.

"I don't have time to be sitting around in a bar! In case you forgot, my dad is in a coma!" The blond boy snapped.

"I hear you kid. Your father is like a son to me if you'll remember. But we can't help him unless we find..." Jiraiya lectured before looking over and noticing the blond haired beauty sitting at one of the booths. Exactly who they were looking for.

"Well I'll be...Princess Tsunade." Jiraiya spoke, seeing his teammate for the first time in twenty years.

"Wait, that's her? But she looks like a...woah..." Naruto had laid eyes on the pink haired girl with them and instantly was at a loss for words.

Large forehead, vibrant pink hair, deep, emerald green eyes, nothing going on in the chest department but that didn't matter to him.

 _'She's pretty...'_ He thought before shaking his head. _'No...I can't think about that now. Saving my dad is top priority.'_

 _'Did he just check me out?'_ Sakura thought. She had never been checked out by a boy her age before. A lifetime on the road with Tsunade, stopping only for gambling halls with perverted men and creeps didn't leave her a lot of time to converse with kids her own age. It was...flattering... She thought was the word. She then shook her head. _'No wait. Focus.'_ She thought.

By the time she looked back up she saw that the duo had invited themselves to their table with Jiraiya scooching in next to Shizune so that he could be face to face with Lady Tsunade, leaving Naruto to sit opposite Sakura in the booth.

"Yo barkeep, two more plates of whatever these ladies just had and another round on me." Jiraiya ordered.

"That's a familiar voice..." Tsunade slurred before looking at her other teammate. "Been a long time you old pervert."

"Good to see you too Princess." Jiraiya replied, not very fond of being referred to as a pervert by both his pupil and his former teammate in public.

"So, what brings you here?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm going to be straight with you. We need you to come back to the Leaf. It's urgent." Jiraiya said seriously.

"To hell with the Leaf." Tsunade spat. "I'm never-"

"Minato is in critical condition." Jiraiya said, cutting her off. "The doctors there can't heal him and is in a medically induced coma. If he has any chances of living, it rests with you."

Tsunade sat up a little straighter. Both her teammates being straight with her in one day. Something big was going on. Even Shizune and Sakura cued in on this. Sakura noticed that the boy seemed to tense up at the mention of this Minato character, whoever that was.

"So the great and mighty Leaf village needs me to save their precious Hokage, is that right?" Tsunade asked. Sakura's eyes went wide. Now she remembered where she had heard that name from.

Minato Namikaze, the hero of the 3rd Shinobi World War, at least on the Leaf's side. He was considered by many in the villages dotting the Land of Fire to be the best Hokage the country had had in ages.

"You can find someone else to do it. You wouldn't come to me if this was some civilian kid with the same condition. So why should I care about some so called hero?" Tsunade spat.

"That's my dad you're talking about, dammit!" Naruto shouted before putting his fist through the table.

"You're the only one who can save my dad and I'll drag your ass there if I have to! I will NOT let my dad die!"

"Oh pipe down, brat. Nobody cares that your daddy was Hokage. Take it from a girl that grew up the granddaughter of the First Hokage." Tsunade spat before taking a big gulp of her beer. "It's all honorable lineage this and living up to your legacy that until you realize that it's all a bunch of crap." Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as Tsunade spoke those hateful words. God knows how long they had been stewing in her head, but to actually say them out loud...

"You'll figure it out when he's dead." She said. shocking Sakura.

Naruto leapt up to the top of the table to throw a punch at Tsunade, only to be held back by Jiraiya as he took ahold of his jacket.

"Hey! What gives, Pervy Sage?!" The boy barked.

"Down! This is a pub." Jiraiya ordered, but the boy would not budge.

"So, this is the infamous Naruto Namikaze, right?" Tsunade asked as she downed another beer. "A scrawny little loudmouth with the face of a fool. Not impressive at all."

"Yeah, but so what?" Naruto spat back.

Sakura looked back and forth between Naruto and Tsunade.

"I ain't gonna just stand by and let you talk crap about my old man." Naruto stated. "I DON'T CARE THAT YOU ARE A LADY, I'LL SLUG YOU WITH EVERYTHING THAT I'VE GOT!" He declared with his knuckles cracked.

"Is that right?" Tsunade smirked.

 _'Oh no...'_ Sakura thought as Tsunade put her boot up on the table.

"You've got guts kid. Meet me outside if you wanna prove that you walk the walk." Tsunade said before pushing the table out of the way and walking outside. Naruto jumped down to follow after her.

"Wait is he serious? He's actually going to fight her?" Sakura asked no one in particular.

 _'Idiot!'_ She thought as she ran outside to join them.

"I'll make things interesting for you kid. If you can land a blow on me just once, then I'll come back to the Leaf. But if you fail, you have to head back with your tail between your legs." Tsunade offered.

"Just one? You don't want to give yourself a chance and make it three?" Naruto shouted as he got into his Frog style taijutsu stance and drew his kunai.

"Because you won't even land a single hit, let alone 3." She jeered.

"I wouldn't put money on that." Jiraiya said.

"Oh, why is that? Did you train the little punk? I can see him using your stupid Frog stance. I take it your pupil ordered you back at the Leaf to train and watch over him. And like a good little hound dog, you obeyed." Tsunade spat.

"I honestly haven't done much to train him except a little refinement. His father did most of the work." Jiraiya smirked.

"You mean the young upstart that couldn't best our old snake of a comrade even with that old fart the 3rd backing him up?" Tsunade asked, making Jiraiya's blood boil.

"You take it back!" Naruto shouted.

"Who's gonna make me?" Tsunade smirked.

"ME!" Naruto shouted as he charged at Tsunade with his kunai drawn.

 _'Oh, please like that's gonna...wait a minute...'_ She got a good look at the kunai just as it whizzed by her face. It was different from the others. It had 3 prongs instead of just one.

Naruto launched a fury of attacks at Tsunade, who dodged all of them with ease and was about to cock her fist back to deliver one of her chakra enhanced punches, the kind that turned castle walls into rubble.

Sakura almost screamed when she saw her master's fist connect with Naruto's torso, only for him to vanish in an orange flash and reappear next to Sakura, holding on to the three pronged kunai he had thrown.

"WAAH! H-how did you..." Sakura stammered.

"The Flying Thunder God Technique." Tsunade answered for Sakura. "That's almost impressive brat." Tsunade said.

"Yeah..." Naruto wheezed as he clutched his gut. Tsunade having still grazed him before he could teleport away fully.

"Don't tell me that's all you've got, brat." Tsunade smirked.

"Not even close you old bag." Naruto shot back.

Everyone felt the temperature drop 100 degrees at Naruto's sudden outburst.

"Welp...it was nice meeting you." Sakura said before she backed up.

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"Because she's going to kill you now." Sakura said simply.

"Oh come on, she wouldn't actually-" He began saying before being punched through the building behind them. Kicking up more dust and debris.

Sakura went over and stood over his tattered-up body. "Yes...she would. That's the one thing you should never call her if you value your life."

Naruto forced himself up and threw off a support beam that had fallen across his chest. "Whatever! I'm still gonna beat her and bring her back to the Leaf." Naruto coughed.

Sakura wanted to say something, but what could she say? He was fighting to save his father's life. If the situation was on her shoulders, she'd probably do the same thing. The way he stood defiantly to her master and his unfaltering determination...something about him made her feel strange.

"You kids done flirting? I'm getting bored over here!" Tsunade called out.

"Who's flirting?!" Naruto snapped before he charged at her again.

 _'ACK! IS that what we were doing?!'_ Sakura thought frantically.

 _ **'Yea, kinda.'**_ Her friend said to her.

Sakura felt her face flush with embarrassment. She had never even talked to a boy her age before. Why did she feel so self-conscious about this?

 _ **'I wouldn't overthink it too much, but I should caution you about that boy.'**_

 _'And why is that?'_ Sakura thought as the boy called Naruto took another punch from Tsunade that sent him skidding across the dirt road. Only to sit back up like it was nothing.

 _ **'Because my brother, the 9 tails, resides in him. That Naruto boy is also a Jinchuriki, like you.'**_

 _'Your brother?'_ Sakura thought. _'He also has a demon slug sealed inside him?!'_

 _ **'No... I'm the only slug out of all 9 of us. The 9 Tails is a fox who is full of hatred and malice. He cares not of the living and would rather see Human kind destroyed instead of co-existing like myself and my brother the 7 tails.'**_

 _'That's...then...he's just like me...'_ Sakura thought as Naruto leapt out of the way of Tsunade's latest earth shattering punch and began charging up another attack that Sakura didn't recognize. There were no hand signs or verbal commands. Just swirling chakra.

 _ **'Yes, my dear, but sadly, if memory serves, Kurama's Jinchuriki's were not kindly treated in life. That could be why he's hanging onto his family with every fiber of his being like he is.'**_ Saiken added.

 _'Oh my God...'_ Sakura thought as she got a look at Naruto as he charged at Tsunade with his mysterious technique. Sakura thought that it would just be another failed attempt at attacking her master, but the look on Tsunade's face said otherwise, she looked nervous.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted as he thrusted his attack forward.

Tsunade just brought her finger down on the ground and ripped open a sink hole that Naruto and his attack fell into.

"Aaah!" Naruto cried as his half formed attack blew up in his face.

 _'Nice try kid. But old Slug Princess Tsunade hasn't lost any of her monster strength. You're going to have to do better than that.'_ Jiraiya thought.

"Hey Jiraiya? We're you the one that tried to teach him the Rasengan? Or was that his father again?" Tsunade asked.

"That was me. It is expected of me, being his mentor and all." Jiraiya shouted back.

"Needs work." Tsunade called out.

"Well we only started two month ago. It took our Lord Fourth a good three years to create this jutsu I'll remind you."

"First off, he's not 'my Lord anything.' Second, this kid couldn't master this jutsu if you gave him 30 years." Tsunade scoffed just to be mean.

"3 DAYS!" Naruto shouted. All eyes turned back on to Naruto.

"What was that, brat?" Tsunade asked.

"Just give me three days and I'll master this jutsu! You'll see!" Naruto declared.

"Oh ho, bold words brat, but a man doesn't just run off his mouth and go back on his word." Tsunade said smugly. Sakura started to feel bad for the blond boy.

"I never go back on my word." Naruto stated. "Because that is my shinobi way." He declared. Exciting a fire deep inside both Tsunade and Sakura.

"Well then, how about we make a wager?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm listening." Naruto glared and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Since you obviously can't land a hit on me, I'll cut you the same deal. If you can master that Jutsu in 3 days, I'll go back to the Leaf and take care of your father." Tsunade said. "Hell, I'll give you a whole week to master it. Just to be sporting." Tsunade added.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered.

"But if you can't..." Tsunade said as she pulled out a fat froggy wallet filled to the brim with Ryo bills. "All your easy cash is mine and the two of you give up on chasing me."

"My froggy!" Naruto shouted. _'Where did she get that?'_

"So, do we have an accord?" Tsunade asked.

"Lady Tsunade, that's hardly fair!" Sakura shouted, earning her mentor's attention. "He's risking his father's life in this bet. Why don't we just go to the Leaf and help them out. We can simply ask for payment." Sakura desperately tried to negotiate. Fellow jinchuriki or not, she wasn't about to stand by and see someone lose their parent. Not while she could stop it.

"You're right, Sakura. How about I throw in my necklace? Just so that I risk something important to me in this bet too." Tsunade offered.

"I don't want your dumb jewelry! I'm here to save my father's life, ya old hag!" Naruto snapped back.

"Now now Naruto, don't be so hasty." Jiraiya consulted. "That necklace of hers was owned by the First Hokage. You could buy three mountains if you sold it."

"Then again, my father always taught me there is no shame in accepting payment for hard work." Naruto quickly changed his mind, but Sakura felt uneasy at him being offered that necklace.

"Then it's a bet. See you in a week, brat." Tsunade said before turning to leave for her hotel room.

"But what if his dad doesn't make it after a week?" Sakura called out.

"Then his son had better master that jutsu beforehand." Tsunade called out before disappearing inside the hotel lobby. Sakura looked horrified at her master's answer. Naruto didn't say a word as he pulled himself out of his hole and started walking towards the outskirts of the city.

"Naruto! Wait a minute..." Sakura said in hopes to talk to him.

"I need to get started on my training...what's your name?"

"I'm Sakura. But listen...I...wanted to talk to you about something kinda private."

"Can it wait? I kind of need to master this jutsu really quickly." Naruto said as he started walking to the woods while inflating a small balloon the size of a baseball. He then held it with both hands as his face became screwed up in concentration. Sakurai didn't know what he was doing until his balloon popped with such tremendous force that she realized it was the same jutsu he had tried to use on Lady Tsunade not a few minutes ago.

 _ **'Maybe you should talk to her.'**_ Kyuubi said to Naruto.

 _'Why? I'm more worried about my dad right now and-'_

 _ **'She has the 6-tailed slug inside her, but whatever. Do what you want.'**_

 _'The what? Why are you even talking to me, you damn fox?'_ Naruto thought.

 _ **'Whatever, kid. You wanted to know more about other Jinchuriki's and I point one out to you. But do what you want. I'm going back to sleep.'**_

 _'You didn't when I met Gaara! Why is this one any different?'_ Naruto asked.

The Kyuubi didn't respond.

 _'Damn fox...whatever, I'll talk to her after my training. This is more important to me right now.'_ Naruto thought as he continued onward to train. He was going to save his father, come hell or high water.

"Um, okay...some other time then." Sakura said as she stopped trying to walk beside him. Soon they were a block away and Naruto called back, "Great. We'll talk tomorrow after I master this thing." Naruto waved off as he tried to compress his chakra ball again, only for it to spiral out of control. "Damn it!"

Sakura felt a little dejected but completely understood why. His father's life was on the line. He had a week to get this jutsu down pat and if he didn't, not only would the Leaf need a new Hokage, but he would be without a father. It was a pain that she had experienced before (albeit when she was an infant), so she wanted to see him succeed no matter what. But another part of her was worried. He said that he'd master the jutsu tomorrow. Did that mean that he was going to train all night? After he had just fought Lady Tsunade? Fought being a gentler way of saying getting smacked around like an angry lamb.

 _'Could he even master such a jutsu in time for the week deadline?'_ Sakura thought. _'It looked like a rather simple jutsu. Then again. If Lady Tsunade is offering her Grandfather's necklace than she must have thought it was a sure bet.'_

Sakura decided. She needed to ask her master about this. Maybe it was all a joke to inspire that kid to complete his jutsu. _'Yeah that's right. Lady Tsunade is helping the kid out...by risking her necklace...'_

Sakura ran back all the way to her hotel room.

"Lady Tsunade!" Sakura cried as she opened up the room she, Shizune, Tonton, and Tsunade were staying at to only find Shizune and Tonton.

"She's not here, Sakura." Shizune informed.

"I can see that, but where is she?" Sakura asked.

"She went out to go drinking with Lord Jiraiya. Catching up I believe." Shizune sighed as she unpacked hers and Tsunade's clothes. A whole week of staying in one place meant the rare luxury of getting to pull out your clothes from a drawer.

"Oh...I see...I needed to talk to her about something."

"It'll have to wait until morning. You know how she gets whenever someone mentions Dan or Nawaki." Shizune said sadly. They both knew exactly what she was talking about. Even Tonton.

"I'm here if you need to talk though."

"I learned what a Jinchuriki is and I also learned that Naruto is one as well."

"Oh...that..." Shizune nervously said. Hoping that she could pick her words carefully. "Well jinchuriki is a word for people who have these demons sealed inside them. Like you with the Six Tailed Slug and Naruto with the 9 Tailed Fox." Shizune said.

"Right, I know. Saiken told me."

"Right. And that's all you need to know about it, basically. It's just a word." Shizune said.

"There's more to it than that, I'm sure. I can either learn about it from you, or Lady Tsunade, or Naruto or I can go to the source and ask Saiken myself. Either way, I want to learn all about this that I can." Sakura said with determination.

 _'Shit.'_ Shizune thought. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"I'll tell you in a minute, right now I wanna know why Lady Tsunade is doing this to that poor boy. His dad is dying and doesn't have a lot of time. Why can't she just help him and just accept a payment for it? Why make him work for it?"

Shizune looked upon Sakura with sadness in her eyes. She was still so young and still so ignorant to the tragedies of this world. "Do not judge M'Lady too harshly. She has her reasons, I assure you."

Sakura just sighed. "I guess..." She walked over and sat on the cot she was sleeping in. "Tell me more about this Jinchuriki business. Tell me everything."

"I mean...you know why Lady Tsunade had to seal Saiken inside in the first place right?"

"Because the villagers had attacked him, so he went overboard and destroyed their village. Including killing my parents. Lady Tsunade didn't realize that he was acting in self-defense and sealed him inside me to save the entire region from his destruction." Sakura listed off.

"Yes that's true. And that is the purpose of all jinchuriki. To act as a vessel or a jail cell to demons and keep everyone else safe." Shizune explained.

"So... why me of all people? Why was Saiken attacked? He's practically harmless and he's friendly to me."

"Well you were a baby. The seal Lady Tsunade knew was best for use on someone with a still developing chakra network. I.e. an infant." Shizune explained. "As for Saiken being attacked. Well you'd have to ask him. He'd no better than us."

Sakura thought about it and nodded. "Alright...I'll ask him. But what about Naruto and the 9 tails? What's the deal with that?"

"That...is up to Naruto if he wants to tell you. Sufficient to say that his demon was also sealed inside him to protect other people. Probably his entire village." Shizune said.

"And what if he doesn't know? Who would know about that?"

"Then it wouldn't be any of your business then I'm afraid."

Sakura sighed. It wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it's the answer she'd have to accept.

"Come on. Let's go to bed. Maybe we can earn some extra cash working at the local clinic tomorrow." Shizune said as she got changed into her PJ's.

"I'm going to be up a while longer. I got too much on my mind." Sakura said before she took out a book and her own sleepwear.

Sakura changed into her PJ's and laid down on her cot. She opened her book, but she found it hard to concentrate. All her thoughts seem to come back to that boy.

 _'Why can't I stop thinking about him?'_ Sakura thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, at a field of trees in the outskirts of town.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto cried as he thrusted his sphere of chakra into the side of a tree, only to imprint the bark of the tree with a swirling pattern.

"Damn it, again!" Naruto shouted to himself as he continued to train late into the night.

* * *

The next morning Sakura awoke late the next morning by Shizune's light nudging.

"Sakura...wake up." Shizune whispered.

"Mmmm...five more minutes..." Sakura groaned as she tried to pull the covers over her head.

 _ **'Come on, my dear. It's time to rise and shine. Maybe that boy mastered that jutsu.'**_ Saiken said.

 _'Huh? Boy...jutsu...?'_ Sakura thought as her brain started to wake up. She opened her eyes and saw Shizune's worried face.

"Come on Sakura, you said that you were going to help me with the clinic, remember?" Shizune asked.

"Oh...right, yea...sorry, I didn't get to sleep until sometime after 4..." Sakura yawned.

"Understandable. Yesterday was very trying." Shizune said as she handed Sakura a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, wheat toast with jam, and a side of grapes.

"I saved you a plate from the free buffet downstairs. Eat up, you'll need your strength." Shizune ordered.

"Right. Did you hear anything about Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"No I didn't I'm afraid. The only other person I've seen today was Lady Tsunade when she woke up this morning." Shizune said as she helped Tonton get dressed for the day.

"Oh..." Sakura said sadly before she started picking at her breakfast.

Shizune saw the look on Sakura's face at the mere mention of the boy and she smirked. "You seemed to be quite taken with the boy."

"Yea..." Sakura said, only half paying attention to what she was saying until she tried to figure out what she said. "Wait, what?"

"Nothing." Shizune teased. "Get dressed. Maybe we can go check on him after were done working at the clinic."

"Sure." Sakura seemed to perk up after that and began attacking her plate of food.

Shizune smiled. _'Ah, young love.'_ She thought.

Soon the two were fully dressed and headed out the door towards the local clinic. Along the way they could hear shouting in the distance.

"RASEN- BOOM! A familiar voice echoed across the town. Followed by an explosion of the release of great energy.

"Seems like Naruto is still at it." Shizune mused.

"He's been at it all night?" Sakura asked in awe.

"Possibly. You have to admire a boy with such dedication." Shizune smiled, even if a part of her was worried that the boy might overdo it.

"There's gotta be a way to accelerate this..." Sakura mused.

"Shizune...do you think that Naruto will complete the jutsu in time?" Sakura asked. Maybe she was over thinking things. _'I mean, they don't call Lady Tsunade the Legendary Loser for nothing. The day that she wins such a Longshot bet would be a dark day for the Land of Fire indeed.'_

"If his determination is anything to go by, he will." Shizune smiled.

Sakura smiled as the two of them arrived at the clinic and got to talking with the owner.

"I'm sorry, but I just don't have any work for you two." The doctor in changed stated.

"Please sir, we'll do any work that you ask of us. So long as it pays. We're desperate." Shizune bowed to the man to show his mercy with Sakura and Tonton following suit.

The man got a good look at them. "Any work?" He asked.

"We're medic ninja and we can do whatever you want us to do." Sakura said.

"Perfect. Cause I need some crates moved." The doctor said.

"I can take care of that." Sakura offered.

"Really? It's a lot of boxes. I mean a LOT of boxes." The man said.

"Don't underestimate her, she's stronger than she looks." Shizune stated.

"It's not about strength, it's about quantity. There is no way that one person can deliver all these medical supplies from the post office across town to here."

 _'He doesn't know me very well, does he?'_ Sakura thought with a smirk. "Believe me, the training I have done, moving a few dozen crates will be a cakewalk for me."

"And if she can't hack it, I'll be right there to help her." Shizune said.

"I'm talking a hundred crates. But if you can get it all done today and put away into storage, I'll pay you the fee I was going to have to pay to one of those delivery boys."

"Consider it done." Sakura and Shizune said with confidence.

"Alright then, head to the post office on the other side of town and tell them you're picking up a shipment of medical supplies for the clinic. Show them this pass and they'll let you collect the merchandise." The doctor said and handed them a card.

"And you can stay here." The doctor pointed to Shizune.

"Me? Okay." Shizune said while Sakura took the pass and made her way towards the post office.

"Come on, Tonton, let's get this done in an hour!" Sakura cheered.

"Oink!" Tonton said as he ran up beside Sakura.

It didn't take long for her to reach the post office and walked inside.

"Can I help you?" The clerk lady at the desk asked Sakura.

"I'm here to pick up a shipment of medical supplies for the clinic." Sakura informed and handed the clerk her pass.

"Aren't you a little young to be doing delivery jobs of this nature?" The woman asked.

"I don't think so. I'm a medic ninja trained by Lady Tsunade Senju." Sakura informed.

"Isn't she the female ninja that abandoned the Leaf after the war?" The clerk asked.

"I... don't know the specifics about that. She doesn't like to talk about it."

"Well I'm sorry you had to be trained by a traitor then." The clerk said, making Sakura's blood boil.

 _'Do not punch.'_ She thought.

"Can I just get the crates please? I have a job to do." Sakura requested as politely as she could while handing the woman the card.

The clerk looked over the card and nodded. "Yes, please come this way."

Sakura followed her into the back with a moderately sized storage house and a hundred heavy crates waited for her.

"Well, at least the guy wasn't lying." Sakura said simply before picking up 4 crates and holding them on her shoulders. "I'll have these all out within the hour."

The clerk sweat dropped when this little girl was able to carry four 120lb crates on her shoulders like they were nothing. Then she saw the girl sprint down the street.

"Kids these days..." the clerk said in awe.

* * *

All day it was this for Sakura. She would haul the crates 4 or 2 at a time. Once back at the clinic, Shizune would be there to unpack with the help of the doctor and one of his assistants while Sakura went for more crates. It was strange in a way, having to walk up and down the street drawing a lot of attention to herself from civilians that had never seen any girl so strong. She especially enjoyed watching one civilian boy her age try and act tough by offering to carry one of the crates for her, only to struggle under the weight.

His three other friends ended up helping him carry it, but only after Sakura had come back with another stack of crates.

By midday she was over half done and felt the need to take a break.

 _'Well...so much for having it done in an hour...'_ Sakura thought as she took a drink from her water bottle.

The back door to the clinic opened and Shizune walked out carrying two bento boxes and some food for Tonton.

"We got lucky. The doctor was so impressed with your hard work that he gave us free lunches as a reward." Shizune smiled.

"Oh nice! I'm starving." Sakura beamed.

"Eat up, it's jambalaya." Shizune said, uncovering the bento boxes to reveal the steamed seasoned rice with shrimp, chicken, and alligator.

"Oh my favorite!" Sakura grinned before she started attacking her lunch. "Haaa! Spicy!"

"It's good right?" Shizune said as she too began to chow down. The two surrogate sisters just sat together and enjoyed a well-earned meal.

"Oh definitely." Sakura smiled. As they ate, something began to dawn on Sakura. "Shizune?"

"What's up?" Shizune asked.

"Do you think Lady Tsunade will accept Orochimaru's offer?"

Shizune stopped eating and set down her bento box and sighed. "I honestly hope not..."

"So you think there is a chance?" Sakura asked.

"If given the opportunity to have your loved ones brought back to life, wouldn't you take it?"

Sakura nodded. "I would. If I had the chance to have my parents back I would. Don't get me wrong. I love both you and Lady Tsunade. You're my family too. But I'd give anything just to meet my parents. Maybe have a family that always stayed in one place and didn't have to do all these odd jobs." Sakura admitted. "Is that selfish of me?"

Shizune gave a sad smile. "Not at all, Sakura."

Sakura smiled in relief. "What about you, Shizune? What would you choose?"

"Oh...I don't know."

"Oh, come on, you know." Sakura pressed, making Shizune sigh.

"Honestly, I would never accept Orochimaru's offer."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Even if he could bring back the dead, it always comes with a cost. Death is meant to be a permanent thing. So, if he does know that jutsu, they could never come back to life forever."

"But they'd still be back." Sakura countered.

"And a monster would be set free to hurt more people and tear more families apart." Shizune countered. "Trust me on this, Sakura. One person's grief does not equal the weight of the world."

"Damn..." Sakura cursed. So much for her dream of getting to meet her parents.

"But then why isn't Lady Tsunade blatantly refusing that snake's offer?" Sakura asked.

"She's old, Sakura. Do not tell her I said that. But when you live to her age and you see the things that she has seen. You start to look out for only yourself and your happiness."

"So then, we should stop her, or at least talk her out of it."

"That's what I plan to do. You just leave Tsunade to me. One way or another, she will not be healing Orochimaru's arms." Shizune said firmly.

"Right." Sakura nodded.

She finished off the last bite of her meal and sighed in content. Until she heard another boom coming from the distance and it gave her an idea.

"Shizune. Do you think the doctor would give us one more bento box?"

"Are you still hungry?" Shizune asked.

"No, I just thought of a way to be nice." Sakura said.

Shizune looked at her and saw that she was looking in the direction of where Naruto was training. She smiled warmly at that. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

A few minutes later, Sakura was walking down the road with a fresh bento in her hand, following the sounds of trees being ripped apart.

"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted as he slammed another half formed Rasengan into a tree, leaving more spiral marks. The tree still splintered in two after so much repeated abuse. Sakura meanwhile came up over the hill and saw that the field was littered with trees all stripped of their bark and covered in spiral marks. And Naruto was standing in the center of them with his hands on his knees and his face dripping with sweat.

 _'He's been training so hard for so long...he deserves a break.'_ Sakura thought.

"Hey, Naruto, right?!" Sakura called out to him.

"Huh? Oh...hey..." Naruto gasped, trying to catch his breath.

Sakura came up to him and handed him the bento box. "I figured you could use a break."

Naruto was taken back. "What is that?" He asked.

"It's lunch silly." Sakura giggled.

"Oh...um...thank you?" He asked as he took the bento box.

"It's jambalaya. It's a little spicy so be careful."

"Right. Thank you." Naruto repeated. This was a new experience for him. Someone other than his mom was offering her lunch to him.

It was...nice...

Naruto opened the box and got a whiff of the hot food. "Dang, that smells good." He said before digging in. "It's tastes good too." He said.

Sakura giggled. "Great. I paid for that bento myself."

"Y-you did?" Naruto sputtered. "W-why would you buy me lunch?"

"I didn't actually. The clinic I was working at has a deal with a local restaurant. They get discounts on meals for discounted medical care and I worked so hard that the head doctor let me have two meals." Sakura clarified.

"Oh...okay." Naruto said before eating again, then he remembered something. "So...someone told me that you're the 6 tails Jinchuriki. Is that right?"

"It is. And you're the 9 tails jinchuriki. Is that right?" She repeated back to him.

"Yes, it is, but I bet the 6 tails is not a stuck-up prick like mine is." Naruto grinned.

 _ **'Piss off, brat...'**_ Kyuubi growled.

"Oh, the six tails can be a Primadonna when he wants. But overall I'd say that he's a good guy." Sakura replied.

 _ **'Primadonna? Really?'**_ Saiken questioned.

 _'Yes really.'_ Sakura thought.

"Must be nice..." Naruto said sadly.

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Sakura asked.

"No reason." Naruto said, clearly wanting the subject to be dropped.

"You wouldn't be sad about it if it was for no reason, Naruto..." Sakura said softly before scooching closer to him. "Saiken, the 6 tails...suspects that he's making you miserable...is that true?"

"I'd rather not talk about it if it's all the same to you." Naruto said calmly.

Sakura was a little dejected but nodded and complied. "Alright...you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Thank you. Truly, this is the nicest someone has ever been to me." Naruto said which just made Sakura worry even more. Before she knew it, Naruto had finished his meal and stood back up to continue his training.

"Is... there anything I can do to help? I know Lady Tsunade can be harsh, but..."

"Don't you worry about her...erm... I'm sorry, I don't think that I've gotten your name yet." Naruto rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed way.

"I told you last night that my name was Sakura..." She said annoyed.

"You did?" Naruto replied. "Sorry, I must have been too distracted by your pretty face." He said slyly.

Sakura just blew air out of her nostrils. "Nice, do you use that line on all the girls back in your village?"

Naruto's smile tuned into a sad frown. "Why would I when they barely even know I exist..."

Sakura was taken aback and felt bad for what she said. "Oh gosh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that...its just...well, I've been on the road for as long as I can remember and we deal with a lot of smooth characters that...I just..." She stammered.

"Nah nah, it's fine. I was using some line that Pervy Sage taught me. He's a notorious womanizer back home and...well I don't know what I was thinking." Naruto apologized.

Sakura felt bad and a little dejected. Did he not think that she was pretty? "So then...you don't think that...I'm..."

Naruto realized his mistake and started to panic. "No, no! You do have a pretty face. For real! The prettiest I've seen!"

"You're just saying that to cheer me up..." Sakura said sadly.

"No, no, it's the truth. You're the prettiest girl I've ever met. Prettier than Ino, and Ayame-chan, and even my mom." He said before realizing how weird that sounded. "Uh, I mean..."

Sakura felt a warmth in her chest from as her cheeks turned a rosy color. "Am...am I really...?"

Naruto looked over to make sure that he wasn't imagining having gotten out of hot water.

"Yeah of course. When I take you back to the Leaf I can show you my mom to prove it to you."

Sakura smiled lightly. "Even though I have a huge forehead?"

"Well yeah. Your forehead is charming. Like really cute." He said.

That did it.

The most hated feature Sakura has about herself and he just said it was charming and really cute. Anyone who had ever gazed upon her forehead said that it was awful and too big to make her look pretty. Yet here was this boy who she only knew by name, saying such kind words about her. It melted her heart that he would say such a thing.

"R-really...?"

"Yeah really." Naruto smiled, his confidence growing.

Sakura felt her cheeks growing red.

"I... I've got to get back to work!" She cried suddenly. She turned to run away but not before turning back to look at Naruto again. "I'll see you later!" She called before taking off at a dead sprint.

"What was that about? Girls are weird." Naruto said aloud before getting back to training.

* * *

As Sakura ran, her mind was all a whirl. _'He just called me pretty! He called my forehead cute! Oh, my god!'_ She thought giddily. She never had this happen to her before and she ran like an idiot. Her emotions were in overdrive right now and she couldn't think straight.

 _ **'Looks like somebody has a crush.'**_ Saiken sang teasingly.

 _'What? No I don't! I'm just happy that I got complimented is all.'_ Sakura defended. Although why she felt the need to defend herself she didn't know.

 _ **'Uh huh...suuuure...'**_ Saiken smirked.

 _'S-shut up!'_ Sakura stammered, flustered and embarrassed.

 _ **'I've been around long enough to know when a girl likes a boy, my dear. And you are throwing off all the signs.'**_

 _'Well you're wrong!'_ Sakura thought, even as she unknowingly skipped to back to the clinic to finish up her job.

"Well, someone is in a really good mood." Shizune smiled.

"Just had a really good lunch." Sakura said as jogged off to grab the rest of the crates.

 _'Must have been some lunch. I've never seen her this happy before.'_ Shizune giggled to herself.

* * *

The next hour, Sakura worked with renewed vigor. Carrying 6 or 8 crates at once, all with a skip in her step. So much that she got the other half of the work done in half the time. And by 2 o clock she has helped finish unpacking the last crate and had reported to the doctor's office.

"It's done sir." Sakura gleefully reported, swiping some sweat from her brow.

"Wow, done already? I'm amazed young lady. It would have taken 4 strong men nearly 2 days to do what you did." The Doctor said in amazement.

"Gotta have some perks to being a kunoichi." Sakura smirked.

"And how. I was going to pay you and your friend a little less than I would pay those delivery boys, but my daddy always taught me that an honest day's work deserves an honest day's pay." He said as he handed Sakura 5,000 Ryo (around $500 US).

"Wow, thank you sir." Sakura beamed. This was four months' worth of groceries. Or a month of dinners out on the road.

"Don't mention it. You earned every penny." The doctor smiled. "Are you two still looking for more work?"

"We're always looking for more work." Sakura smiled.

"Well I'm sad to say that I've got no opening for you here in the clinic. I have heard of the Slug Princess and anyone trained by someone trained by Tsunade is high up on recommendations. But anyway, I got a call from the post office and the owner was impressed by your leg work. He's willing to hire you both as delivery girls for commission. It's not hourly work, but the man pays fair and the deliveries are common enough to put some decent cash in your pockets. How's that sound?"

"Well, medicine is really are thing, but we don't tend to stay in one place for very long to have full time jobs." Shizune said.

"Well I'm sorry. Serious ailments aren't that common in these parts. Nothing that would require the likes of your skilled attention. I'm afraid this is the best offer you're going to get."

Sakura and Shizune both sighed when a frantic woman practically busted down the door, an unconscious man in her hands that looked like he had suffered a serious chest wound.

"Please help!" She cried in a panic

Sakura and Shizune were now in full medic mode and tended to the man before them.

"Several stab wounds to the chest." Sakura observed while Shizune checked his internal organs.

"Liver has been hit, left lung collapsed and a nicked aorta. This man needs immediate attention." Shizune said to the doctor.

"I'm also detecting a neurotoxin in his system. Most likely a poison dipped Kunai." Sakura added.

"I have anti-venom in the back." The doctor said as several nurses came rushing out with a gurney.

"No need. We have another method. Get him onto the gurney." Shizune instructed the nurses. Said nurses turned back to look at their chief of medicine who just gave them a knowing nod. These two were far more qualified than he was. The nurses carefully picked up the injured man and gently placed him on the gurney, where he was quickly wheeled into the triage bay. There, he was hooked up to a 12 lead EKG and the two medics could see what kind of trouble this man was in.

"Bradycardic. Sakura, shock him once while I get ready to extract the venom." Shizune ordered.

"On it." Sakura said as she grabbed the defibrillators and had one of the nurses drizzle burn gel on the metal pads. She them rubbed them together to spread the goo and held them up high. "Clear!" She called as she pressed them down on his chest, making sure everyone's hands were clear and pressed the buttons.

 **ZAP**

The man's chest surged up and came to rest, his heartbeat back into a normal rhythm for the time being.

"Good. Work on healing his aorta, then get to work on his liver." Shizune instructed while she pulled out the venom using a special water based medical jutsu. Sakura did exactly as she was instructed and began to notice the man's breathing starting to level out. It always gave her a warm feeling seeing the fruits of her labor pay off.

"Doctor. Get me two units of O-, stat." Shizune ordered.

"Right." The doctor said as he dashed away to fetch the blood.

"Aorta is fixed." Sakura informed.

"Good, now work on the liver."

"Liver is fixed too." Sakura reported.

"Good. Work on his punctured lung and seal up the wounds."

"Already on it." Sakura said and Shizune couldn't help but smile. Hers and Tsunade's apprentice had grown up fast. Even at her young age she could keep up with either Shizune or Lady Tsunade on the operating table.

* * *

After a solid hour, the man was finally stable and free of any venom. He was hooked up to 3 different IV's, one for blood, one with saline and another for anti-venom on a slow drip, in case Shizune missed some.

"He's through the worst of it, but I expect him to pull through with 100% recovery." Shizune reported to the waiting doctor.

"I have to say. That was extremely impressive. If this was an actual hospital I'd hire you both on the spot. But perhaps we can come to a better arrangement?"

"What are you thinking?" Sakura asked.

"This isn't going to happen every day. Not even during our busiest season, and this is the off-season. So what I'm thinking is paying you 10,000 Ryo for lessons for my staff. Per day." The doctor offered.

Both women gasped. 10k ryo a day to teach them medical ninjutsu? It was like they just hit the lottery.

"Now this wouldn't be per person. I'm still a free clinic. This is coming out of my pocket. But if it gets my staff even more prepared to save the next life then it is worth it. I might even be able to negotiate with the state that for netter wages for my staff since higher skills demand higher pay. Everybody wins."

"I'll take it." Shizune said. "Sakura, you go take the post office job."

"Wait...seriously? But we-"

"We'll be here at least a week. That's long enough to save up enough money to pay for even Lady Tsunade's gambling habits."

"Yeah but I..." Sakura stuttered.

"I know you want to help, but you are just not at the level to be teaching just yet. You are close though, so close. But again, he isn't paying per person so it makes no sense to squander an opportunity to make more money."

"Oh, right." Sakura nodded.

Shizune then leaned in close. "I also need for you to keep an eye on Lady Tsunade whenever you can. It'll be easier for you since you'll be out and about."

"Oh, right. Good thinking." Sakura said in realization. "Leave it to me." She said with determination before heading to the post office.

"Tonton, go with her. Make sure that she doesn't get into trouble." Shizune ordered to her pet pig.

"Oink!" Tonton said before running after Sakura.

"Alright. let's get to work." Shizune said to the clinic staff.

* * *

Sakura and Tonton meanwhile were dashing towards the post office.

 _'If I can't be training my mind, then training my body will be a good start. If Naruto is working his butt off than I can't slack off either.'_ Sakura thought with determination.

 _ **'Smart thinking. Gotta look good for him ya know.'**_ Saiken teased.

 _'Good for him?'_ Sakura asked.

 _ **'Yea, can't look all skin and bones. Guys don't like that. Take it from someone who used to be male.'**_

 _'Well I don't see how that...wait what?'_ Sakura thought as she stopped dead in her tracks.

 _ **'What what?'**_

 _'What do you mean you used to be male?'_

 _ **'Don't you know anything about slugs?'**_

 _'Wait, so you can change genders?'_

 _ **'Overtime yes. So, I'm a female like you are after being a male for half a millennium.'**_

 _'Huh...how about that...'_

 _ **'So, yeah. Can't be skinny for that boy now.'**_

 _'I don't want to be a twig neither. You've seen those civilian girls in those big cities. Can't even do a push up and expect to be treated like loyalty.'_

 _ **'Well, I'd take another look at yourself first.'**_ Saiken said.

Sakura did just that. It's true, even with her current outfit that consisted of a red skirt that stopped midway down her thighs and a top that only covered her chest, she could still see ribs just above her exposed belly and her legs and arms were rather scrawny.

 _'I'm thirteen!'_ She exclaimed.

 _ **'Don't give me that excuse. I used to see girls your age with a lot more meat on their bones than you do.'**_

 _'Well I'm sorry that I can't control my body chemistry.'_ Sakura said.

 _ **'Well you can work out more and stop eating like a mouse to start with.'**_

 _'I eat plenty to keep up with Tsunade's Kick Ass training!'_

 _ **'But you mainly eat fruits and vegetables and don't tell me I'm wrong.'**_

 _'I live like a nomad. I don't exactly have a lot of choices most of the time.'_ Sakura said.

 _ **'You've had plenty of opportunities to eat some thick and juicy meet, but you always shy away from it because you think you'll get fat. Am I wrong?'**_

Sakura sighed. Saiken was right. _'No... you're right...'_

 _ **'Then I think we both know what you need to do. I can hear your stomach growling after that medical emergency, how about you go get yourself a nice double bacon cheeseburger at one of the local stands?'**_

 _'I already had jambalaya for lunch.'_

 _ **'And yet your body is asking for more.'**_

 _'Fine. Just let me talk to the post office and then I'll eat a damn cheeseburger!'_

 _ **'Fair enough'**_

"Oh, hello again." The post office clerk greeted. Sakura had absentmindedly made her way back to the post office without even realizing.

"Hello. The doctor at the clinic said that you could use help with deliveries?" Sakura asked.

"Oh yes, right in the back." The clerk directed her.

"Thank you. can you tell me what's going where?"

"My husband will explain everything to you."

"Okay, thank you." Sakura responded before making her way to the back room.

* * *

As the week progressed, Naruto continued to train with Sakura stopping to see him every day for lunch. The two really got to know each other, but as far as the reasons on why or how they became a Jinchuriki still remained secret. They still didn't know each other enough to trust one another with such sensitive information. Sakura was really starting to develop feelings for this boy and Saiken, the nosey slug, was doing his...HER best at reminding her about it. Almost to the point where it was becoming annoying.

It had been about 5 days since they met up with Naruto. Sakura had been working just as hard as Naruto had been while making a paycheck. It had gotten to the point where she couldn't get that boy out of her mind. It's the most she thought about as the days rolled on. And today was no different. She was just returning after a rather hefty delivery of a cast iron stove to the local bakery that left people in utter shock. A skinny little girl carrying around a 600lb stove in naught but her arms and hands!

She was making her way to the local burger stand to pick up a steak and cheese sub for Naruto and a double beef and bacon burger with chili fries for herself. Who knew eating such greasy food tasted so good?

 _ **'So, you gonna ask him out?'**_ Saiken asked.

 _'Ask him out? We're friends, aren't we?'_

 _ **'So? Don't you know that most successful relationships happen with good or best friends. Are you still denying that you have feelings for him?'**_

 _'Well...no... I just want to wait a little longer...'_ Sakura thought.

 _ **'Urgh, fine, I can wait a little bit longer. Just don't keep him waiting. The son of the Hokage, one of the most powerful ninja villages on the continent? The boy is practically royalty by your human standards.'**_

 _'Were you not paying attention when he said that other girls pay him no mind?'_ Sakura reminded her.

 _ **'I was paying attention alright. And then I noticed how dimwitted the boy is. If he doesn't have at least one admirer that he doesn't know about I will revert back to male.'**_

 _'You're strange, you know... that...'_ Sakura stopped when she saw Naruto training. He just turned a 120 year old oak into splinters in a matter of seconds.

"Holy shit he did it..." She said in awe.

The boy realized this too, for he threw his arms up in joy and then promptly fell flat on his back unconscious.

Sakura dropped their food on the ground and ran to his side. "Naruto! Are you okay?!" But the boy was unresponsive. Sakura dashed to his side and tried to shake him awake. "Naruto!"

* * *

Back in the hotel room, the two older women were having words when Sakura burst in through the door carrying Naruto over her shoulders.

"Sensei, please help!" She pleaded.

"What happened to him?" Shizune asked frantically.

"He completed the jutsu, but then he fell down and is now unconscious." Sakura reported.

"Lay him down on the bed." Tsunade instructed.

Sakura carefully laid down the unconscious boy on the bed so Tsunade could check him over.

The senior medic ninja ran her Mystic palm over his forehead to get a feel for his body's condition while simultaneously giving a visual inspection.

"Incredible, that little fool..." Tsunade muttered to herself.

"What? What is it? Is he going to be okay?" Sakura asked with concern.

"Look there." Tsunade said as she pointed at Naruto's hands. Which Sakura noticed that his palms were torn and burnt. "This punk actually practiced the jutsu so much that his chakra burned his skin. That's chakra exhaustion the likes of which I've only seen on dead men."

"But...he's going to be okay...right?"

Tsunade sighed. "He'll be fine, nothing that bed rest can't cure. But he'll be out cold like this for at least two days."

 _'He's going to miss his deadline...even though he did complete the jutsu...'_ Sakura thought sadly.

"Which means that I win the bet by a technicality." Tsunade stated. Sakura gasped.

"But he actually did complete it! I saw it with my own eyes!" Sakura defended.

"And how do you even know what the completed jutsu looks like, hmmm?" Tsunade snapped. Shocking both the girls and Tonton.

"You probably just saw another failed Rasengan and thought it was the real thing, you stupid girl. In any case, the boy won't be awake tomorrow to dispute the matter and so I'll have won the bet anyway." Tsunade spat.

Tsunade then dug her hand into Naruto's pocket and pulled out his froggy wallet. "Pack your things. We're leaving." Tsunade said as she pocketed Naruto's money.

"What are you doing?! We made more than enough money busting our asses this week, you don't need his!" Sakura protested.

"It's my winnings from the bet! That brat is gonna learn the consequences of losing a bet in this world today." Tsunade snapped.

Sakura growled and glared at her master before turning her back to go pack her things. "Absolute bullshit." She spat to herself.

"Fine, take his money. But we can at least still go to the Leaf and heal his father!" Sakura snapped. "He worked really hard to save his dad! You can at least do him that kindness!"

"Weren't you listening, girl? I won the bet! That means that I don't have to go anywhere. So we are now going anywhere but the Leaf!" Tsunade spat.

"What?! NO! You can't just let his father die! Are you really that old and bitter that you'd rather care about an empty promise by some lying snake bastard than saving one poor boy's father?!"

"Don't you speak to me like that, Sakura Haruno. Not after I took you in and raised you as my own! And if those genius doctors at the Leaf can't save their own Hokage with their books and funding then he wasn't going to live anyway, so there!"

"I don't care! This is wrong and you know it! If you won't help him then I will!"

"Go then! Leave! Just like everyone else!" Tsunade shouted. Sakura was about to get up and do just that when she was stopped by Shizune.

"Nobody is going anywhere." Shizune said in the coldest tone either women had ever heard her speak.

"Lady Tsunade. You lost the bet. Just accept that and let's go to the Leaf to save the Hokage. We don't have to stay any longer than that. But please forget about this ridiculous dream to revive your loved ones."

"Then you can go with her! I'm done with the both of you." Tsunade snapped

"I'm not leaving you until you promise that you won't take Orochimaru's offer! M'Lady you know what he is capable of. Please, just let him die and let's go save a life worth saving." Shizune pleaded.

"I will do no such thing. They matter more to me than anyone else. And if you're not with me, then you're against me. And I will not allow you to stop me." Tsunade growled before phasing out and knocking both Shizune's and Sakura's heads together, knocking them out cold. The two fell on a pile together. Sakura could only look at the door as Tsunade walked out of it. Before fading into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Hey, wake up." Spoke a familiar voice.

Sakura groaned as she felt her head spinning.

"Ohh...my head..." Sakura groaned. Her head felt like someone stabbed a pike through it.

"Sakura-chan. Wake up." Naruto said trying to shake her awake.

"N-Naruto-kun...? My head...it really hurts..." Sakura whined.

"Oh boy. You look like Pervy Sage after he gets back from a bender. Here, drink this." Naruto said as he pressed a glass to Sakura's lips.

Sakura opened her mouth and some kind of liquid poured into her mouth and it tasted nasty. She started to cough and gag at the flavor.

"Ugh! What are you trying to make me drink?!"

"It's better that you don't ask. This is what my mom makes whenever Pervy Sage crashes on our couch after a long night of 'research.'" Naruto said.

Thinking that this was some kind of home remedy, Sakura sucked it up and drank the nasty tasting fluid until it was gone. Interestingly enough, despite the bad taste, it cured her pounding headache.

"Wow... that really did the trick." Sakura said in awe. Then she realized something. "Wait a minute...how are you awake?! I was told you'd be out for two days! Wait...how long have I been out?"

"Um, well the guy in the kitchen said it was Friday, so one day I think." Naruto said.

"A whole day?! Oh shit!" Sakura cursed as she scrambled to her feet.

"Ah don't worry but it Sakura-chan. I mastered the jutsu. Now all I've got to do is hunt down your teacher and show it to her. Then we'll be on our way." Naruto smirked.

"No that's not it! She's gone to make a deal with Orochimaru!"

"Orochimaru?!" Naruto's eyes darkened. "That snake attacked my village, killed the Old Man and nearly killed my father. What's he got to do with this?"

"He's bribing her. He wants her to heal him in exchange to bring back to life her lover and her little brother, which we both know is impossible."

"No it's not." Naruto said darkly.

"What...?"

"The ANBU in charge of protecting my father told me that after Orochimaru sealed himself in with the 3rd Hokage and my father, he summoned two coffins that contained the 1st and 2nd Hokage. He brought them back to life to fight against my dad."

"Dear god...but wait, when he confronted us, he said he needed two human sacrifices to bring them back. Wait, what are we doing debating this? We need to stop her!"

"Right. I'll wake Shizune and then we'll go." Naruto said as he quickly rushed over to Shizune's side.

Sakura went over to her things and pulled out her weapons pouch and a tanto. A type of short sword used for close quarters combat and a pair of black gloves.

"You use a sword?" Naruto asked in awe.

"Huh? Oh this. Yea it was one of the first weapons Lady Tsunade taught me to use."

"That's sweet. I practice with a halberd myself, but it's hardly a weapon for a ninja." Naruto said as he let Shizune get a whiff of his mother's wake up juice.

Shizune coughed awake and she had the same massive headache Sakura had.

"Oh my god..." She groaned.

"You awake?" Naruto asked as Shizune began to regain her bearings.

"Ugh...barely..."

"Drink that up, Shizune." Sakura said as she sheathed her sword and tied it to her waist. "It tastes like bear piss, but it works."

"How do you know what bear piss tastes like?" Naruto asked as he fed Shizune the drink.

"Don't ask." Sakura said as she tied her kunai pouch to her mesh stocking covered thigh.

Naruto double checked his jacket and found that he still had all his gear on him. All his gear for fighting anyway. Even his lucky three pronged kunai that his father had gifted him.

Sakura then took her rather long hair and tied it into a pony tail with a hair tie she kept on her wrist. Anytime she was about to get serious, this is the way she would prepare herself.

Naruto also untied and retied his head band to make sure it was nice and tight before a mission.

Sakura looked over to get a good look at Naruto's outfit.

Naruto had on an orange and black jacket with a hood on the back and black pants on. On his shoulder was a red circle with a spiral in the center. The symbol of the Uzumaki clan.

"Right, let's go!" Naruto shouted as he stuck his head out the window, only for a kunai to go whizzing past his face.

"Get down!" Sakura exclaimed as she tackled him to the floor.

"Relax Sakura-chan! It's only Pervy Sage." Naruto informed.

Sakura sweat dropped. "Oh...my bad..." She said sheepishly.

"Jeez, this is why I told you not to date firecrackers, Kid. Too wound up." Jiraiya wheezed as he stumbled into the room through the window. He looked like he had been knocking on death's door.

"Who says we're dating?" Sakura grunted as she stood back up.

"Oh, so I misunderstood you bringing him lunches every day during his training? The little twerp wouldn't shut up about you and your talks." Jiraiya teased as he struggled to breath.

"Pervy Sage!" Naruto hissed with embarrassment.

Sakura was going to protest, but noticed Jiraiya's shallow breathing. "Are you okay?"

"No. I've been drugged by your mentor, on top of nursing a wicked hangover. Cause I think that Tsunade meant to use me and Naruto as the sacrifices to get her brother and Dan back." Jiraiya wheezed out.

"Damn her..." Sakura growled. "Shizune. Can you heal him?"

"I can try, but if it's one of Tsunade's special brews, I'll only be able to clear your head. Your chakra will still be extremely hampered." Shizune said sadly.

"Grrr, doesn't matter. We need to find Tsunade now and stop this meeting before it begins." Jiraiya said as he tried to leap up to the rooftops, only for his foot to slip and cause him to nearly fall three stories down to the alleyway. Thankfully Naruto was there to catch him by his shirt collar.

"You're in no condition to continue, sir. I think you should stay here." Sakura advised.

"The Hell I will. Even in this state I'm still the strongest shinobi in this room. Just carry me on your shoulders, brat." Jiraiya ordered.

"Urgh, fine, whatever, let's go!" Naruto said before hoisting Jiraiya over his shoulders onto his back. In a single bound, all four of them dashed out of the window and down the street.

"Do you have a location?" Sakura asked.

"The meeting place was to take place at the same spot as when we first met Orochimaru." Shizune said.

"So, the castle then. Good thing we're heading the right way." Sakura said.

"Yes, I just hope that weren't not too late." Jiraiya said.

* * *

They arrived too late, for when they did arrive at the spot where Tsunade had destroyed the wall a week earlier, the very ground beneath it had been shattered like glass with a path of destruction seeming to head out from the castle compound.

"Holy crap. It's like a freaking wrecking ball came through here." Naruto said as he placed Jiraiya down to help inspect the grounds.

"This is Tsunade's handiwork alright. Whatever happened here, Tsunade was set off on a rampage." Jiraiya deduced.

 _'That means that...Tsunade refused!'_ Sakura and Shizune thought in delight.

"Now we just need to track her down." Naruto mused.

"Shouldn't be too hard." Sakura said as she pointed to the path of destruction leading away from the castle.

"Huh. Yeah, we should probably do that." Naruto said.

 _'Cute, but stupid.'_ Sakura thought before she and Shizune lead Naruto and Jiraiya to where they hoped Tsunade would be.

 _ **'View must be great from that glass house of yours.'**_ Saiken thought.

 _'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'_

 _ **'Nothing, focus. I think I see your mentor throwing that boulder- OH SHIT!'**_ Saiken thought as a car sized chuck of rock came hurling towards them.

"DODGE!" Shizune barked.

The four shinobi leapt out of the way of the incoming rock with nearly a half second to spare. The boulder then crashed and skipped across the ground before settling some 300 meters away. The four looked back to see Lady Tsunade trying to fight the glasses wearing assistant to Orochimaru, who seemed to be putting up a valiant fight.

"This ends now!" Kabuto shouted as he did the unthinkable. He sliced his own arm, spilling blood all over Lady Tsunade and freezing her in place.

"Oh shit!" Sakura growled. She drew her sword and prepared to attack. "Naruto. If you have any tricks, now's the time to use them."

But Naruto had frozen too.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked. _'Is he also afraid of blood?'_

"K-kabuto?!" Naruto exclaimed when he got a good look at the man who attacked Lady Tsunade.

"Wait, you know him?" Sakura asked.

"I do. H-he is my friend. I don't understand why he is here...and why he is wearing a Sound headband!" Naruto exclaimed as he earned Kabuto's attention. Who merely smiled at the sight of his old target of interest.

"Hello, Naruto..." He said in a sickly sweet voice.

"Face the facts Naruto. He wears a Sound headband, he's fighting with Orochimaru. He's a traitor to the Leaf. A double agent." Jiraiya stated.

"No, it can't be. I fought alongside him with my team out in the Forest of Death. We fought those creepy bastards from grass or wherever." Naruto stuttered out.

"Focus Naruto!" Jiraiya barked. "I need you to keep your head. Orochimaru hasn't appeared yet."

 _'I think we lost him. Saiken, is there anything you can do to help me? A summoning technique, chakra transfer, anything?'_ Sakura asked mentally.

"Naruto breathed out. "Okay...I'm good." He said as he dropped into his defensive stance.

 _ **'I...can lend you some of my Chakra, but you have to keep your anger in check. If you get too riled up, you could lose control and be consumed by my chakra.'**_ Saiken said.

 _'Hold off on that. Let's see what happens next.'_

 _ **'Very well. Just let me know.'**_

"You ready Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, now fully steeled and ready to go.

"Ready." Sakura responded, equally as ready.

"Wait." Jiraiya ordered as another figure appeared behind them, one as pale as bones.

 _'Great...'_ Sakura thought.

"Well...it seems the old team is now completely reunited." The figure hissed.

"What team? You've crossed the line Orochimaru. Today marks the end of the Three Great Shinobi when I being you back to the Leaf to stand trial for the murder of our sensei." Jiraiya stated.

"I wouldn't wager on that if I were you. You can barely move and Tsunade is out of the fight now." Orochimaru sneered.

"And you are just as handicapped as me with your arms sealed away." Jiraiya countered, making Orochimaru narrow his eyes in anger.

"Besides, you got us to contend with." Sakura glared.

"No, he doesn't. Orochimaru is mine. Shizune, you take four eyes. Naruto and Sakura, you watch over Princess Tsunade." Jiraiya ordered.

"Oh, I don't think so." Sakura refused.

"Sakura. This is not your average everyday highwayman. This is Orochimaru, the man who went toe to toe with two of the Leaf's Hokages and killed one of them. Plus his assistant is on Kakashi Hatake's level, an expert Jounin. I'd rate you both as Chunins right now, but that won't be enough to make a difference here. Just keep Tsunade safe and see if you can't get her back in the fight. That will be the difference between victory and defeat for us."

"You shouldn't underestimate me-"

"Sakura-chan...as much as I want to stay and fight this asshat, he's right." Naruto said.

Sakura grit her teeth, but even she knew Tsunade was a sitting duck right now and needs help immediately.

"Fine..." She gave. But not before she sent a hard Chakra enhanced foot through the ground, creating a large crater in her wake before sprinting away to help her master.

 _'She's got Tsunade's monster strength...maybe I should have kept her around.'_ Jiraiya mused while Naruto looked on in absolute shock.

"What are you standing around for? Go protect them!" Jiraiya shouted at Naruto.

"Eh?! Oh right!" Naruto said quickly before darting after Sakura.

Sakura meanwhile had already knelt by Tsunade's side, who sat down shaking and looking at her hands.

"Lady Tsunade! Snap out of it!" Sakura said to try and get her master to focus. But Tsunade would not move, she was covered in blood and frozen in fear.

"Lady Tsunade..." Sakura said sadly before pulling out a clean handkerchief and started wiping away the blood from her face as gently as possible.

That was when Naruto skidded to a stop next to Sakura. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's afraid of blood." Sakura said as she continued to remove the blood from her master.

"Huh? But she's a doctor, isn't she? What kind of doctor is afraid of blood?"

"The kind that gave up medicine!" Sakura snapped. This was not the time and place to explain Tsunade's phobia. "Now keep a look out."

"WHAT?! Then how is she supposed to save my dad?" Naruto exclaimed.

"I don't- LOOK OUT!" Sakura screamed. At that moment, Kabuto took the seals on Orochimaru's arms and used them to summon a snake larger than any the young ninjas had ever seen.

"Holy..." Naruto began.

"Shit..." Sakura finished.

 _'Um...Saiken...now would be a good time to give me an idea...'_ Sakura thought desperately.

"Don't despair kids, I got this!" Jiraiya called as he munched down on his finger, drawing blood.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!" He cried as he slammed his palm down and was enveloped by smoke. When the dust cleared, a tiny orange frog no bigger than Tonton appeared.

Sakura and Naruto sweat dropped. "Seriously...?" They both said.

"Hey! I got drugged, remember?!" Jiraiya cried in his defense.

Up on top of his snake summons, Orochimaru and Kabuto were laughing at Jiraiya's foolishness.

 _'Grrr, I can't just have them be laughing at my Godfather like that.'_ Naruto thought as he leapt forward to join his mentor, but not before looking back at his pink haired friend. _'Watch me Sakura.'_ He smiled while giving her the thumbs up.

Sakura returned his thumbs up and smile. _'Go get'em, Naruto! Shannaro!'_ She silently cheered.

Naruto bit his own thumb and flashed through the hand signs before slamming his palm down.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!" He cried as he was also enveloped in smoke. Which cleared to reveal the fat little yellow frog the same size as Tonton.

"Hi-dee-hooo!" The yellow frog spoke.

Naruto fell flat on his face before looking back at Sakura, whose eyes were full of disappointment that said to him, "loser." Naruto's spirit broke.

Sakura sweat dropped. _'We're doomed...'_

 _ **'Want my Chakra now?'**_ Saiken asked.

 _'...please, before these idiots get killed...'_

"SAKURA! MOVE!" Shizune shouted as the massive tail of the snake came barreling down upon them.

Sakura quickly jumped out of the way with Tsunade in her grasp. This wasn't going to be easy in the slightest.

 _ **'Look. Even with my chakra, you'll still be hard pressed to deal with that snake. You would need a summon of equal of greater power.'**_

 _'I don't have the slug summoning contract! I never needed it before now!'_ Sakura thought frantically.

 _ **'Right I know...however, I can teach you how to summon me. It won't take long.'**_

 _'I think that I need to focus on getting Lady Tsunade back in fighting shape! She'll be worth more on the battle field than you will!'_ Sakura thought.

Jiraiya meanwhile was running up the side of the massive snake and flashing through his hand signs.

 _'Earth style: Dark Swamp!'_ He thought as a massive black tar swamp appeared right beneath the gigantic snake, not sinking it completely, but immobilizing it to one location.

 _'Damn, still too weak that I can only pull off this tiny ass swamp.'_ Jiraiya cursed. He ran up the side to confront his old teammate head on.

Shizune meanwhile was firing her spring loaded needles at Kabuto who nimbly dodged out of the way. The two met in close quarters combat where Kabuto managed to land a good hit in, doubling Shizune over. The medical expert grit her teeth and released a toxic cloud from her mouth. _'Poison Mist Jutsu!'_ She thought as the thick cloud of purple gases spread across the battlefield.

 _'Come on...'_ Sakura thought as she tried her best to get her master to focus, but she was just petrified with fear. _'Oh enough of this...'_

 **SMACK!**

Sakura slapped her master hard to get her to regain her focus.

"S-Sakura...?" Tsunade sputtered.

"Get a hold of yourself! You're supposed to be one of the Legendary Sannin and the world's greatest doctor! You're too great of a person to freeze up at the sight of a little blood. Now get in there and help Naruto and Jiraiya!" Sakura berated.

"I...I..." Tsunade stuttered as the two medics heard a screaming boy fly overhead. They looked up and saw Naruto held between the jaws of the snake, trying to stop himself from being eaten.

"Lady Tsunade! What happened in the past is in the past! You can't change it, you can't dwell on it! You have to move on and focus on the here and now! And right now, we all need your help! If you don't then we'll all die!"

Sakura then looked over when she heard the thunk of a kunai landing at her feet. Naruto's lucky kunai to be exact.

She looked back up and saw Naruto being swallowed whole by the snake, his orange outline disappearing inside its massive jaws.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried out.

"I'm right here." Naruto said as he stood next to her. She whipped around to see him alive and well. Aside from being covered in snake saliva.

"Actually, I'm a clone, the boss just has a plan." The clone pointed up at the snake, which was starting to turn bloated.

"What the heck?" Sakura asked as the snake continued to bloat up.

"Just watch." The clone smirked as the snake's belly grew bigger and bigger and its face looked sicker and sicker until...

 **BLECH!**

It vomited out a thousand bile covered clones, all of them piling out in front of the trio before exploding into a mountain of smoke. The snake staggered about before smashing its head against the ground in dizziness.

"Okay...that was gross..." Sakura gagged.

Naruto then walked out of the smoke. "Well it's a tried and true tested method." Naruto said as he wiped the gunk off his sleeves.

"Urp! Oh god...you stink Naruto!" Sakura gagged before covering her nose.

"Please don't remind me, Sakura." He pouted. All he could do was not think about how disgusting he must be to keep himself from vomiting. "More importantly, how is Tsunade doing?"

"She's not good. I think we need to get her out of here." Sakura reported.

"The old bag isn't going anywhere." Kabuto shouted at them as he threw Shizune's beaten body in front of them. "And neither are you..." He said with an evil grin.

Sakura looked over to see Jiraiya in the same predicament and Tsunade was still frozen in fear.

"Shit..." Sakura cursed as she readied her tanto. "Naruto...I want you to ready yourself and try not to be afraid of what I'm about to do."

"What do you plan on doing?" Naruto asked as he readied his kunai.

 _'Saiken...its time.'_ Sakura thought to her 6-tailed friend.

 _ **'Right. I'll give you two tails worth, but I don't dare go any further.'**_ Saiken said before releasing her Chakra, which poured into Sakura's Chakra network.

On the outside, she was slowly enveloped by thick, green chakra. Her eyes became solid Green with larger, round pupils as two thick slug tails from the chakra started to protrude from her backside. On her head, the chakra cloak created the shape of two antennae that stuck out on either side. Her muscles bulged a little bit and her face was steeled and ready for battle.

"Sakura...what have you...?" Naruto asked in horror.

"Saiken has given me some of her Chakra. I'm perfectly calm right now and she said she won't give me more than two tails worth of Chakra. If you can do this as well, I suggest you do it now. I need your help with this." Sakura explained calmly.

"No." Naruto said firmly.

"No? What do you mean no?"

"I said no." Naruto snarled as he prepared himself for battle.

"W-what the..."

 _ **'The Kyuubi's Chakra is full of hate and malice. He probably can't access it without being consumed by it.'**_ Saiken explained.

"You know something Naruto? After I spent some time in your company. I realized something. You don't have what it takes to be a shinobi." Kabuto stated.

"You shut the hell up." Sakura snapped.

"Oh? You object to my assessment?" He asked Sakura.

"Completely. I may not have known Naruto for very long, but I know that his heart burns with the passion of becoming a true ninja. The strive and dedication that I have witnessed from him, only true shinobi would really have." Then she smirked. "And I'm proud to fight alongside him."

"Oh is that so? And yet in my experience he lacks the one vital characteristic of all great ninja. The will to do what needs to be done. In that, he is an idealistic fool that would limit himself from doing whatever necessary to win." Kabuto lectured.

"Take you for instance. You who is willing to work alongside your monster to achieve victory. Yet this fool despises his inner demon." Kabuto stated, cutting deep into Naruto. "He wouldn't even use his powers to save his own teammates. And all because the Kyuubi turned his family into a family of outcasts."

"SHUT UP!" Naruto cried.

Sakura remained fixed on her opponent. "He has his reasons I'm sure."

"He's a coward. Refusing to use the Kyuubi's chakra just because he is hated for it and his mother was crippled by it." Kabuto stated.

Sakura was taken aback. She looked at Naruto who was glaring at Kabuto with unbridled fury. It couldn't be true could it?

"N-Naruto...? Is what he said true?" Sakura asked softly.

Naruto grit his teeth and Sakura could see his hair start to wave and grow harsher like a wheat field in the wind, the whisker marks on his cheeks grew harsher and his eyes changed from deep blue to angry red with slit pupils with each blink.

 _'That's...the start of the Kyuubi's cloak...isn't it?'_ Sakura asked in thought.

 _ **'Yes, it is...my brother is feeding Naruto with his Chakra.'**_ Saiken replied. _**'But he might lose control because he's using it out of anger. You're his friend, you need to calm him down.'**_

"I'll kill **YOU!"** Naruto screamed as he exploded at Kabuto like a rocket.

 _'Well, I guess I'll go help him.'_ Sakura thought before exploding towards Kabuto as well, her sword drawn and ready.

But Kabuto was already engaged in a frantic battle with Naruto. His rage had poured out into a Kyuubi cloak level zero. Yet all that amounted to was increasing his already impressive speed, speed that Kabuto could just barely keep up with.

 _'Okay, maybe not. But I'm all dressed up and I have no dance partner. Who do I fight?'_ Sakura thought as the giant snake began to stir awake.

 _'Perfect.'_ She smirked before changing direction.

 _'Oh my god I feel woozy.'_ The snake summon thought to himself.

"SANNARO!" Sakura yelled before dealing a devastating right hook to the snake. The snake was knocked straight into the ground and cried out in pain before looking back at its new opponent. A tiny little slug girl with pink hair.

"What the?!"

"Nice to meet you. But now your ass is mine." Sakura smirked as she cracked her knuckles.

"I'm a sssnake. I don't have an asssss." The summon hissed.

"You will when I'm through with you." Sakura grinned deviously.

"One lucky sssshot doesn't give you the right to be cocky-GAAAAH!" The massive snake cried out when Sakura put her foot through his tail.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Sakura asked innocently.

"MMMMM!" The snake hissed in pain as he threw his tail up into the air, therefore sending Sakura flying high in the sky due to the differences in physics.

 _'Big mistake.'_ Sakura thought before righting herself to go into a full nosedive.

The snake then jumped up at the freefalling jinchuriki with its mouth opened wide.

 _'Hmm...got a jutsu I can use with this chakra?'_ Sakura asked.

 _ **'I like the way you think.'**_ Saiken smirked. _**'Syrup Trap. It's a water style. Ram and Tiger.'**_

Sakura made the Ram and Tiger seal and charged her Chakra. "Water Style: Syrup Trap!" She shouted. Soon her arms turned to some kind of sticky goop and she figured that's what it was. She flung her arms forward, launching a mess of sticky slime into the snake's mouth. Sakura then used the slime as a rope to swing out of the way of the snake's mouth and kicked it hard in the side, sending the overgrown reptile crashing to the ground in a sticky mess.

 _'Holy...'_ Naruto thought as he was distracted by his fight with Kabuto.

 _'Shit...'_ Jiraiya thought as he too was distracted.

The snake was encased in a sticky syrup to the point where he couldn't move. Sakura touched down on the ground with a thud, creating a small crater in her wake.

"That worked better than I thought." Sakura sighed contently as she admired her handiwork.

Meanwhile, Kabuto and Naruto were still duking it out, Naruto with his Kyuubi chakra and Kabuto with his medical jutsu.

 _'This has gone on long enough.'_ Kabuto thought. As soon as Naruto charged at him again, Kabuto waited a half second longer to dodge, giving Naruto the opening he needed to swipe at Kabuto's eye, while giving the medical ninja the opening he needed to pat Naruto on the belly.

 _'Mystic Palm: Severed Threads Technique.'_ Kabuto thought as his right side of his face was permanently scarred. Even with his pain killers flowing through his system, he still winced when Naruto's claw gouged out his left eye and shattered his glasses.

The two ninjas rolled away from each other and only Naruto leapt back up to his feel.

 **"They say you're on Kaka-sensei's level. Well now you've got the eye to match!"** Naruto mocked in a dark voice. The young ninja laughed before he felt his strength leaving him and his anger receding. **"AAGH!** Aaahhhh!" Naruto cried as his claws retracted, his whiskers became less harsh, and his eyes turned back to blue.

Sakura heard that and instantly started rushing to his aid.

"What did you...?" Naruto gasped as he fell to his knees.

Now it was Kabuto's turn to laugh evilly. "I severed your chakra system from the Kyuubi's. No more demon chakra for you. Temporarily of course. But you'll be long dead before that should matter."

"I see..." Naruto sighed. "Thank you." He said sincerely.

 _ **'Hurry up, my dear. I can only hold this constant amount of Chakra for another 5 minutes.'**_ Saiken advised.

 _'Noted!'_ Sakura responded hastily. She was almost there.

"Thank you? Have you still not realized that we are enemies?" Kabuto asked, bemused.

"Nah, I just really wanted to beat you with my own power." Naruto said as he got back into his stance.

"Humph, amusing as always, Naruto." Kabuto said as he assessed the situation. His opponent was weaker, but still fresh based on his breathing. Lord Orochimaru was still engaged in combat with Jiraiya. Their snake summons was defeated and the girl responsible was barreling down towards him as they speak.

 _'I can fight the jinchuriki one on one, but two is too tall an order. Which leads my only available option is...'_ Kabuto took off in a dead sprint away from Naruto and towards Tsunade, who was still just stilling on her ass, being scared.

"Hey where are you going?! Come back you bastard!" Naruto shouted as he gave chase.

 _'I take out the Princess and the 4th Hokage will surely parish in time. Forgive me, Lord Orochimaru, there is no other way.'_ Kabuto thought.

 _'Is that glasses guy running towards Lady Tsunade?'_ Sakura thought. _'Shit! We won't make it in time!'_

Sakura quickly changed direction and poured on as much speed as she could, causing her running to sound like a passing jet.

Tsunade meanwhile looked up at the commotion and saw Kabuto baring down on her with his bloody kunai drawn. She couldn't move, she couldn't react, all she could do was tighten her grip on the three pronged kunai that Naruto gave her.

"This is the end for you, Princess!" Kabuto jeered with blood lust as he stabbed his kunai right at Tsunade's chest. He was quickly blinded by a flash of orange light and felt his kunai skewer something.

When Kabuto opened his eye he saw what he had hit, Naruto's hand.

The blond had teleported in front of Tsunade and stopped Kabuto's knife the hand way. The blade slipped right through the bones and Naruto took that opportunity to tightly grab Kabuto's hand. He wasn't going anywhere now.

"No." Naruto countered. "This is your end."

Tsunade snapped out of her stupor and looked upon the 12-year-old brat attempting to save her.

"The Hell are you doing you stupid brat?! Run already! Just take my apprentice and run!" She pleaded.

"Hell no Granny!" Naruto shouted as he held our his free hand. "I ain't leaving until I win that bet."

Tsunade wanted to argue some more when she noticed the chakra beginning to gather in Naruto's hand. That swirling blue chakra, compressed and concentrated.

"That cursed necklace of yours... I'm gonna take it."

The spinning ball of chakra became a perfect sphere and Naruto pushed it directly into Kabuto's chest, the rotating energy drilling through his shirt and skin.

"RASENGAN: SPIRAL CHAKRA SPHERE!" Naruto shouted as the incredible attack sent Kabuto flying away like a spinning bullet. The traitor spun end over end until he finally crashed with a sickening thud against a boulder sticking out of the ground. They could all hear his bones creaking against the stone.

Sakura arrived just as Naruto sent Kabuto into a world of hurt and stood in front of her master.

 _'Woah...'_ Sakura thought as she watched this jutsu of his tear Kabuto apart.

Naruto just stood over them triumphantly as Kabuto crashed into the side of a rock. He felt like the king of the world until his legs gave away and he fell backwards.

Sakura caught him before he hit the ground and knelt down to treat him, the 6 tails healing Chakra enveloping him in a warming and calming sensation.

"You did great, Naruto-kun. Just let me fix you up." Sakura said happily whereas Tsunade eyed her apprentice in awe.

 _'The Rasengan...'_ Tsunade thought. _'He mastered it in 7 days.'_

That's when Naruto coughed up blood, something was wrong.

"Wha! Naruto?" Sakura asked in shock.

"SAKURA, MOVE!" Tsunade barked as she pushed her apprentice away and placed her ear against Naruto's chest.

 **Ba-dump...Ba-dump...**

Tsunade's eyes went wide.

 _'His heart, it's enduring arrhythmia!'_ She thought as she cut open his shirt with a bit of chakra.

 _'That must have been when...'_ Tsunade thought back to when she saw Kabuto grab Naruto's chest right before he rocketed off.

Kabuto used all his strength to raise his head. "If you want to save him. You'd better act quickly." Kabuto mocked.

Sakura slowly turned to face Kabuto, glaring daggers at the spectacled boy. If looks could kill, Kabuto would be nothing more than a puddle on the ground.

"You will pay dearly for this..." Sakura growled darkly.

"Oh, what are you going to do?" Kabuto mocked as he coughed blood. _'Too much damage.'_ "Kill me?"

Sakura's 6 tails cloak intensified and she blasted off towards Kabuto with blistering speed, dealing a hard chakra enhanced kick right were his left eye would have been.

 _ **'Sakura my dear! Please calm down!'**_ Saiken exclaimed with worry. She was tapping into too much of her chakra and the slug was worried her host would lose control.

But Sakura was now on a rampage. She was mad, furious even. This bastard had attacked her friend, her first friend. He had also attacked Lady Tsunade, Sakura's mother, and Shizune, her older sister. This bastard would pay!

 _ **'Sakura please! If you take much more, you'll lose control and target your friends! Please stop!'**_

Sakura didn't listen and instead smashed her fist into Kabuto's face, the uninjured side, and set him skipping across the dirt.

 **"RAAAAAAAAGH!"** Sakura roared like a ferocious beast.

Suddenly, a third slug tail grew out of her backside and now she was completely out of control. She only knew fury, rage and hatred.

Tsunade meanwhile had her hands full with Naruto, pumping a specific amount of chakra into his heart at specific intervals to get his heartbeat back up to a sustainable level.

 _'Come on, don't die...'_ She thought as she pumped more chakra into his system.

 _'Don't die...'_

Still more chakra, and nothing.

 _'Don't die!'_ She pleaded as Naruto's breathing drew silent.

 _'Please...'_ She begged desperately before she felt a tug on her necklace. She looked up in surprise as Naruto held up his hand to grab the necklace while smirking at her that dumb smirk of his.

"Hey Granny..." He wheezed out. His eyes felt so heavy.

"The bet... I win..." He said before falling asleep.

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. It was almost like she felt Naruto's life force leave him at that very moment. Her eyes turned solid white with rage before grabbing Kabuto by his neck.

 **"You will tell me how to save his life or I swear to the sages, no jutsu out there will fix what I do to you and your boss."** She growled darkly.

"Why bother? Your master already saved him?" Kabuto laughed.

 _ **'It's true Sakura! Search your senses again!'**_ Saiken exclaimed.

This time, Sakura heard her and checked again. A moment passed, then another, then...

 **Ba-dump...**

It was just a small spark, but his life force was slowly returning to him and she could feel it.

"...Naruto...?" Sakura asked softly. Her rage subsiding and her chakra levels started to return to normal, but not before Glaring at Kabuto.

"If you think I'm done with you, you're sadly mistaken." She said before taking out a roll of ninja twine from her pouch and strung hip up like a pig to the slaughter.

"Oh please. I can escape out of this easily." Kabuto lied.

Sakura then punched his freaking lights out and the medical ninja went limp.

"Escape from that." Sakura spat.

Sakura dragged Kabuto's limp body next to Naruto before kneeling down by her friend's side.

"Is he okay?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"He'll be fine. He's just resting right now." Tsunade said fondly as she stroked his spiky bangs out of his face.

"Oh, thank god..." Sakura sighed in relief.

Tsunade looked at her apprentice who seemed to be a lot better off than anyone else on the battlefield, and who was holding Naruto's left hand concerningly.

"You seem to be quite taken with this boy, aren't you?"

Sakura blushed. "W-what? No way! I don't-"

"Sakura...it's written all over your face. I may look like it, but I wasn't born yesterday you know." Tsunade said before looking at the blond boy to rested comfortably.

"W-well he's my friend, isn't he? My first friend..." She said sadly as she healed the knife wound in his hand.

"That he may be...but the vibe I'm getting from you is something more. Deny it all you want, but you really like this boy. I can see it and I gotta say...I'm proud of you." Tsunade smiled.

Sakura looked up at her mentor. Her praise was few and far between, and never undeserved.

"Really?" Sakura squealed.

"I wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true. You have done a great deal today, despite going into a rage against Kabuto and letting the 6-tails Chakra consume you."

Sakura groaned and shied away, but Tsunade put her hand on Sakura's shoulder and smiled. "But it was because of this boy, wasn't it?"

"Well yeah. He's my friend..." Sakura said.

Tsunade gave Sakura a knowing look with a raised eyebrow.

Sakura blushed. "O-okay...he...means a lot to me..."

"Which is why after we get our affairs here all settled, we're heading to the Leaf." Tsunade said.

"You mean it?" Sakura gasped with joy.

"Of course, because I know you'll never shut up if we don't." Tsunade sighed before looking down at the boy's sleeping face. "And I'm a woman of my word." Tsunade then untied her crystal necklace and draped it over Naruto's neck.

 _'Once more...just once more...I'd place the odds in you.'_ Tsunade thought as she gave Naruto a kiss on his forehead.

Tsunade looked up to see Jiraiya limping towards them with a still unconscious Shizune in his arms. "How about you go help your sister? Naruto will be okay and just needs to rest."

"Okay." Sakura said reluctantly as Jiraiya came up close.

"I'm sorry Tsunade. Orochimaru got away." He bitterly reported. "Again."

"That's fine. We got something of his anyway." Tsunade said simply before pointing out Kabuto.

"Heh, your doing?" Jiraiya smirked.

"Nope. Sakura's doing." Tsunade grinned.

"Bullshit. My apprentice was the one who dealt the finishing blow. Yours just gift wrapped him."

"Oh? And what do you call Orochimaru's snake?"

"Also, weakened by my pupil using his disadvantages to his advantage." Jiraiya Gabe a cocky smirk.

"Uh huh...well at least she can control her tailed beats chakra to a point."

"Fair point. But in all seriousness, that was some impressive skills there little lady. You'll make a fine ninja one day." Jiraiya stated.

"Thank you, sir." Sakura smiled. Getting praise from two Sannin in one day? She must be dreaming.

"Alright. Let's get this lot back to the hotel. Rest up and then head out tomorrow. To Konoha!" Tsunade declared.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Did you all enjoy that? I hope you did. We always love it when people enjoy our work. If you guys have any questions, suggestions, or comments to give on the story, let us know through reviews or through PMs. We love to answer questions and hear from you guys.**

 **Like, should we have included a conversation that informs Naruto about Tsunade's cursed necklace, or can we get away with leaving that out? I just really liked the line from the manga.**

 **Whatever the case, hope you all have a great day. And may you all have a great year.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note from Panda: Well rock me Amadeus, 43 favorites, 46 follows, and 12 reviews; all in 10 days after publishing the first chapter. Either we have a loyal fanbase or we struck gold with this story. Here is hoping that the second chapter can meet all your expectations. Just leave a review telling us if we nailed it or what suggestions you would make to improve this story. And as always, enjoy.**

* * *

The 5 of them, plus their prisoner set off early in the morning at a dead sprint. Time was of the essence to save the 4th Hokage's life and they couldn't afford to delay. For two days they ran with little rest to make it back to the Leaf before it was too late.

"There! There's the gates!" Naruto called out to the group. The gates to the Leaf village had appeared in the Horizon, which meant good news for them all. They were nearly there and Naruto's father would get the proper care he needed.

"Halt, who goes there!" A chunin working at gate security called out to them. A suspicious looking group headed towards the gate at high speeds.

"Move or be trampled! It's an emergency!" Jiraiya called out to them. "We have a doctor here to save Lord 4th!"

"A doctor for the Fourth? I still can't let you in without-" The chunin was cut off when his superior officer smacked him upside the head.

"What are you, blind? That's Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade of the Sannin. Let them the fuck in, numb-nuts!" The Jounin ordered.

"Y-yes sir!" The Chunin stammered before stepping aside to let the group bolt in, but not before tossing Kabuto at their feet.

"A gift your you! He's the traitor from the Chunin exams!" Jiraiya called out as they continued to run.

The two guards just looked down at the groaning one eyed man.

The group then sprinted their way to the hospital and the front desk, where a lifelong fan of Tsunade's greeted them at the front desk.

"Lord Hokage's room? Third floor, room 302, the one with all the ANBU." The girl quickly responded to Tsunade's questions.

"Good. Sakura, Shizune. With me. Naruto, you wait here with Jiraiya. We'll have your dad as good as new in no time." Tsunade instructed.

"I'm going in with you." Naruto stated firmly.

"No, stay here. we need no distractions and as much room as possible." Tsunade said firmly before the 3 medics took off down the hall.

Naruto punched a wall as Tsunade and her two assists sped off down the hall. There they came across four ANBU stationed outside a patient's room.

"Halt, who goes there?" The most senior ANBU asked.

"This is Lady Tsunade of the Sannin. She's-" Shizune instructed before being cut off by the ANBU.

"One second. Weasel, check her for henges and any other illusions." The senior ANBU ordered. The shorter dark haired man nodded and looked over Tsunade with his three tome Sharingan activated.

"She is who she says that she is." Weasel reported.

"Good. Hurry up! He's only got a day left."

"He's got a lot longer now that I'm here." Tsunade said.

The ANBU then opened the door to the room next to the one they were guarding.

"Why did you open this one?" Sakura asked.

"It's a diversion, Sakura." Tsunade responded.

Curious, Sakura took a peek inside and saw a few doctors standing over a blond-haired man lying in bed with machines hooked up to him. And a sad looking red haired woman sat in a chair right next to the sick man's head, reading a book.

"Oh..." Sakura replied as the 3 medics walked inside, Tsunade shoving the doctors out of her way.

"I beg your pardon? Who do you think that you are?" The head doctor exclaimed as he was shoved aside.

"Someone who knows what she's doing." Tsunade snapped before she started assessing her patient. There, the red head looked up at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Tsunade...? You're back!" The woman exclaimed in shock.

"Hello, Kushina. Yes, I'm back. Your son is back too. He's outside." Tsunade said as she got to work assessing her patient.

"Oh is he?" Kushina lit up like a flower that had been budding for months.

Sakura got a good look at the woman. She was beautiful, there was no other word for it. And the way she looked up in awe and hope, she reminded Sakura so much of Naruto.

Kushina then signaled to one of ANBU hidden behind Sakura in the corner. "Please fetch my son."

 _ **'And to think, Naruto called you prettier than her.'**_ Saiken reminded her.

The woman remained seated as the ANBU stepped outside and found Naruto waiting behind the door.

"Mom!" Naruto called as he ran up to hug the woman for all she was worth.

"Are you okay sweetie? You're not hurt anywhere right?" Kushina asked as she held her son tightly.

"I'm fine mom. How's dad?"

"ARE YOU FLIPPING KIDDING ME?!" Tsunade barked. Making everyone else in the room who wasn't in a coma jump. "You halfwits couldn't treat THIS?! What kind of morons did I leave in charge?!"

"What what?!" Naruto asked.

"Nothing that you would understand, but the bottom line is, he'll make a full recovery." Tsunade replied.

"His Chakra network was almost completely blocked off from a seal and he has a paralytic toxin in his system." Shizune clarified.

"Really?" Kushina asked with teary eyes. She had been sleeping in his room and sitting by his bedside for over two months now. To hear that he would make a full recovery was such a relief.

"Yes, really. I'm completely appalled the medical staff here couldn't treat this. It's absolute child's play." Tsunade scoffed.

"I beg your pardon. We did everything we possibly could." The head doctor defended.

"Well then your best wasn't even close to good enough." Tsunade barked before beginning the process of removing the venom.

"Shizune. Work on getting rid of that seal. Sakura, help me remove the poison." Tsunade instructed.

"Yes, M'Lady." Sakura said as she helped Tsunade with the poison.

* * *

For what seemed like an hour, Sakura and Tsunade had finished removing the poison just as Shizune finished with removing the seal to Minato's chakra. It was at that moment that Tsunade sent a jolt through his body to get the 4th Hokage out of his coma where he began to stir awake.

"Honey?" Kushina asked quietly as she and Naruto leaned in close.

"Uuugh...Kushina...?" Minato groaned. He felt like he had the worst hangover ever.

"Dad!" Naruto cried as he pounced his father in a tight hug.

"Hey champ...how you doing?" Minato asked weakly.

"I'm good. Me and Pervy Sage brought Tsunade to wake you up." Naruto said.

"Tsunade...?" Minato asked as his half opened eyes focused in on the Sannin herself. "Well I'll be damned...it's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too. You've got yourself one heck of a son. You should be proud." Tsunade praised.

"More than I ever could be..." He smiled weakly as he patted Naruto on the back. Naruto blushed but was too relieved to see his father well again to be embarrassed.

"Lady Tsunade, I can't thank you enough for making our family whole again." Kushina bowed deeply from her seat next to the bed.

"Thank your son. He practically dragged me here." Tsunade smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some doctors to chew out."

"Please wait. When will we be able to take my husband home?" Kushina asked.

"We'll have to keep him here overnight for observation. Just as a precaution."

"Well then, we'll stay here the night." Kushina decided.

"No Kushina. You and Naruto go home for the night." Minato said.

"But dad, I wanna stay with you..." Naruto protested.

"No buts. I can tell by your smell you've been running for two days straight. And knowing your mother she spent all of my time in a coma sleeping at the hospital with me. You both need your rest." Minato said firmly.

Naruto and Kushina sighed, but nodded. Then Naruto had an idea.

"Can Sakura-chan come over?" Naruto asked, making both his parents raise their eyebrows.

"Who is Sakura-chan?" Kushina asked.

"That would be me." Sakura said as she raised her hand sheepishly.

Kushina and Minato eyed up Sakura very closely. For a moment, none of them said a word.

"Well I was just about to offer Lady Tsunade and her assistants the spare bedrooms in our home. Until they choose to leave of course." Minato said.

"Lady Tsunade, would you be interested in this offer?"

"Oh...I don't know..." Tsunade sighed.

"Please, Lady Tsunade." Sakura begged. "Please?" She clapped her hands together in prayer and got on her knees.

Tsunade saw that same look from Naruto. She couldn't really make these two separate after what they've been through. It would tear them apart.

So... she came up with an idea.

"I suppose we could for a few days." Tsunade said slyly.

"Only...a few days...?" Sakura asked sadly.

"Yup. Gotta find a place of our own you know." She smirked.

"Are you serious?!" Sakura's face lit up like a million-watt bulb. All her life she had traveled with Lady Tsunade and Shizune, and all her life she had secretly wished to have a stationary home to call her own. Some place to come back to. Now she was getting it.

"Yeah. I think 25 years is a long enough vacation. Settling down would be a nice change of pace. Plus, the quality of this hospital is abysmal. I'll be dead in the ground before this establishment sinks back down to the level of boonies free clinic." Tsunade stated.

"I bed your pardon?" The head doctor asked.

"You have my pardon. And my permission to leave for the day." Tsunade said.

"You can't just come in here and take over the place like you own it." The Head doctor barked.

"Actually, she can." Minato said seriously. "Had it not been for her showing up, I would have been dead if left in your care."

"My Lord. I assure you. We did everything in our power to save you. Perhaps an intern or a nurse made a mistake with one of the tests and it led to a false diagnosis."

"That sounds a lot like you pushing the blame on your subordinates. While as you are in charge. Their mistakes are your own, and I shall not have the Head Medic of my ninja village be a man that cannot accept blame or criticism." Minato stated. "Move your things out of your office. If you'd like a job tomorrow. You can speak with Lady Tsunade then."

"Oh, I won't need him if he isn't willing to learn how to do things properly." She then turned to the rest of the staff present. "That goes for the rest of you as well. I will not have a bunch of monkeys working under me. If you want to keep having a job here, you are all going to be retrained by myself and Shizune."

Tsunade then walked out the door. "Spread the word through the break room. A storm has come to this hospital. The Slug Princess is back." The staff felt a chill run up all their spines.

"Hoo boy..." Shizune sweat dropped. Well, at least she no longer had to do odd jobs anymore.

Minato couldn't help but chuckle. "Good to have her back. The Leaf just wasn't the same without her."

Sakura smiled. She had not seen Lady Tsunade like this in a long time. It was like a fire had been lit inside her and turned into and inferno.

"Now then. Naruto, why don't you take your mother and your 'friend' Sakura to our home? Show her where she'll be sleeping. Maybe show her around the village afterwards?" Minato suggested.

"Sure thing dad." Naruto said as he offered his mother his hand to help her stand up. "Come on Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he supported his mother as she walked ever so slowly from one end of the room to the other.

"Oh, and Sakura. I want to see you in my office once I get out of here." Minato said.

"Um, of course, sir." She said as she followed Naruto lead his mother by the hand out to the hallway. She walked so slowly.

"What are you thinking, Lord Hokage?" Shizune asked.

"I wanna see about making her a Leaf Shinobi." Minato replied.

"That would be..." Sakura was speechless. "I'd be honored sir, I mean... Lord Hokage." She bowed deeply.

Minato chuckled. "Please, call me Minato. I hate that stuffy Hokage stuff."

Sakura blushed. So informal, and with the strongest ninja of arguably the strongest ninja village.

"Yes sir, I mean, Minato."

Minato just smiled. "Run along now. I got some matters to discuss with Shizune."

Sakura smiled before joining Naruto and Kushina. Minato waited until he was sure they were out of earshot before addressing Shizune.

"My wife needs help. Badly." He said seriously. "These damn doctors here don't know how to treat her properly. Since the Kyuubi broke free of her when Naruto was born, she has been weaker than a newborn kitten."

"I saw. I'm afraid that even with a proper examination and treatment, her condition is permanent." Shizune said sadly.

"My wife and I have long ago accepted that she will never be a shinobi again. But even if she got back up to civilian strength it would be a huge burden lifted off our shoulders. Please, do everything you can." Minato pleaded not as a Hokage, but as a concerned husband.

Shizune sighed with a heavy heart. "We'll...do our best. But, don't get your hopes up, sir."

"At this point, it's all I have left." Minato said before dismissing Shizune.

* * *

Sometime later, Kushina unlocked the front door to a rather lavish house that Sakura looked at in complete awe. She was staying here?

"Please, make yourself at home. The bedrooms are upstairs. Pick any that isn't mine, my son's, or Jiraiya's. We have servants who help out around here with cooking, cleaning, and gardening. Just treat them with politeness and they will be happy to assist you with anything." Kushina explained as they walked inside, past the master staircase and through the hallway leading to the kitchen with huge windows that looked out upon a lavish garden filled with some of the most beautiful and fully grown flowers Sakura had ever seen.

"Holy crap... I've never been in a house this nice before..." Sakura gasped in awe.

"You like it?" Kushina smiled as she looked back at Sakura.

"I think like is an understatement..."

Kushina giggled. "Well I'm glad. We so rarely get visitors it's nice to show off my home to someone who appreciates its beauty."

Sakura then turned to Naruto. "Naruto-kun. You never told me you lived in such a fancy house." She exclaimed in shock.

"You never asked." Naruto shrugged.

Kushina had to stifle a giggle. _'Naruto-kun? I may be a grandmother before I die after all.'_

"Would you like a snack, Sakura?" Kushina asked.

"Oh yes, please. And... could I trouble you to use the shower? Been running for two days straight."

"By all means. Matilda!" Kushina called.

A rather large woman wearing a simple workers uniform came in from the pantry.

"My Lady? Oh, I didn't hear you come in, I'm sorry. I was merely restocking the pantry." Matilda said before noticing that Naruto had returned as well.

"Little Naruto. You're back." Matilda exclaimed with joy. "Safe and sound."

"Yup. Great to see you, Matilda." Naruto smiled politely.

"I trust that your mission was a success?" Matilda asked. "I've been praying for your safe return and your father's wellbeing."

"He's fine now. Lady Tsunade saw to that. She and her two companions shall be staying here for a couple of days. If you could get their rooms ready and help Sakura with the showers, that'd be lovely." Kushina requested.

"Oh of course. It would be my pleasure." Matilda smiled.

"Sakura, what would you like for a snack? I can have the chef cook you up some ramen." Kushina offered.

"Ramen? It's that noodle soup right? I don't think I've ever had it." Sakura admitted. An eerie silence befell the room she was in and Sakura could have sworn she heard a cricket chirping.

"Oh Lord you've done it now." Matilda said.

"What? What did I do?" Sakura asked.

"WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Both Naruto and Kushina yelled at the top of their lungs, causing Sakura to cover her ears.

"Gaaah! What's with the screaming for?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Ramen is kind of sacred in their family. Just smile and bare it." Matilda advised her.

 _'Oops...'_ Sakura thought.

"Oh I don't think so, dear. If you're going to be in this house, you have to appreciate the fine delicacy known as ramen." Kushina lectured.

"One does not simply say they have lived without eating ramen at least once in their life." Naruto added.

"Ayame! Teuchi! Front and Center!" Kushina bellowed. Her body might have been weak as a new born kitten, but her lungs could still roar.

Said people came rushing into the foyer as quickly as they could.

"Yes, M'Lady?" Ayame asked.

Kushina pointed an accusing finger at Sakura followed by Naruto. The two chefs knew they only did that to those who have come into their home without ever having had ramen or even appreciate it due to being served sub-par Ramen.

"This girl...has never eaten Ramen before. Three bowls of your finest Miso Pork. On the double." Kushina ordered.

Ayame and Teuchi both gasped. It was blasphemy that this girl never had Ramen before.

"Leave it to us." Teuchi said seriously.

"We'll make her the best ramen she could ever get." Ayame added before they both dashed into the kitchen.

 _'The hell just happened?'_ Sakura thought in confusion.

 _ **'I have no idea...'**_ Saiken said in equal confusion.

"Naruto, take her to the dining room after you both wash your hands." Kushina ordered before grabbing a nearby cane to help her walk.

"But what about my shower?" Sakura asked.

"Ramen first, then shower." Kushina said sternly.

Sakura sighed. "Ugh, fine."

Naruto led Sakura to the downstairs bathroom where they both washed their hands. From there, he led her to the dining room table where Kushina had eased herself into a chair and a servant pushed her chair in. Shortly after that, Teuchi brought out a tray with 3 bowls of piping hot Ramen.

"I believe I've outdone myself this time." He praised as he set a bowl down in front of Kushina, then Naruto and finally Sakura.

"We'll be the judge of that." Naruto jokingly said as he picked up his chopsticks.

Sakura looked at what was in the bowl before her. a mess of noodles floating in delicious smelling broth, topped with a blend of spices, pork meat and fishcake toppings. The aroma alone was making her stomach growl something fierce.

"Oh man...that looks so good." Sakura said eagerly.

She looked over and saw Naruto and his mother already eating with gusto. The cute look on their face were nearly identical.

 _ **'The apple don't fall far from the tree as it were.'**_ Saiken observed.

 _'Seriously.'_ Sakura thought before picking up her chopsticks. She twirled some noodles around them while getting a piece of pork with it. She was never really open to trying new things, but she wanted to be accepted by Naruto and his mother. So...

With a swift motion, she stuffed her bite into her mouth and expected it to be salty or some other kind of awkward flavor. Instead what she got was a blissful array of wonderful flavors that she never even knew existed.

"Oh my God..." Sakura said aloud.

 _'Another joins the coven.'_ Kushina thought with a smirk.

"This is amazing!" Sakura beamed before devouring her Ramen.

"Told you you'd like it." Naruto said as he slurped his bowl.

Sakura didn't reply. Instead she continued to devour her Ramen like it was the first time she's ever had food.

By the time she was done, Kushina was on her second bowl, while Naruto finished off his third.

 _'Damn...this family really loves Ramen. Now I know why.'_ Sakura thought.

 _ **'And now you do too.'**_ Seiken thought.

 _'Oh big time.'_ Sakura thought as she was handed another bowl of ramen. The next thing she did was predictable at this point. She started devouring it.

After 5 bowls of Ramen, Sakura let out a content sigh and patted her now full belly.

"Oh man...that was... BELCH " Sakura blushed when she let out a manly like burp. "Oh...excuse me..." She said with a deep red blush.

"Wow...nice one Sakura-chan." Naruto praised.

"I second that." Kushina giggled.

Naruto stood up and patted his belly. "Gonna go use the bathroom." He said while Sakura sipped some mango juice. When he was gone, that's when Kushina had a devilish smirk.

"Okay, spill." She said suddenly.

"huh? Spill what?" Sakura asked.

"You know what. I have never seen my son so happy before he met you and don't tell me its 'We're just friends,' I see the way you two look at each other." Kushina stated.

Sakura blushed madly. "W-w-well...we are...just friends..."

Kushina gave Sakura a skeptical look.

"...for now..." Sakura squeaked out, her face redder than Kushina's hair.

Kushina had sparkles in her eyes. "So you do like my son!" She said giddily. "I gotta say, that's a huge relief for me."

"A huge relief? How so?" Sakura asked, curious.

"Simple...I don't have very long to live." Kushina said sadly. The air around her grew heavy.

"What!?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Kidding." Kushina smiled. "Sorry, bad joke. When you are as sick as I am you have to find some humor in it."

Sakura just stared at the women. She didn't find this very funny.

"But in all seriousness, I am very weak. So weak that I'm prevented from being there for my son in many ways that a mother should."

"Oh my god...no one has been able to fix this?" Sakura asked.

"There is nothing to fix really. I don't know if Naruto told you yet, but I used to be the 9 Tails jinchuriki before him. It was extracted from me and if I wasn't an Uzumaki I would most certainly be dead." Kushina explained.

"Oh my god...no, he never told me. And we have a connection there as I'm the 6 tails Jinchuriki."

"Well my, my, how rare it is for two jinchuriki to meet. Even rarer still, a current jinchuriki to a former jinchuriki." Kushina chuckled.

"I didn't even know what a Jinchuriki really was until about a week ago really."

"Is that when you learned that you contained a Tailed Beast?" Kushina asked.

"Well, no. I've always known that I contained a tailed beast, but I never knew why. It was Saiken that told me most of it." Sakura said.

"Saiken?" Kushina asked.

"Oh, that's the 6 tails' name. I talk to her every day." Sakura smiled.

Kushina went wide eyed. "You talk to your tailed beast...?"

"Oh yea. She's really nice. A bit annoying at times, but she's like an imaginary friend that I will always have with me."

"I see...well that's...great." Kushina said, not sure of what to make of this.

"She was...a misjudged tailed beast..." Sakura said sadly. "My village had attacked her and she fought back in self-defense. Sadly...my parents were killed during that...she didn't do it on purpose, they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't blame her for it."

"Well that's very big of you, Sakura. I wish all the people in our village had your courage." Kushina said as she sipped her broth with a spoon.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Oh nothing. So back to my original point. I'm glad my son found a 'friend' like you." Kushina smiled as she bowed her head. "Please take good care of my son."

"Uh...yea..." Sakura chuckled sheepishly with a light blush.

"Hey I'm back." Naruto declared as he entered the room.

"I'm gonna get my shower done. Um...where is it?" Sakura asked.

"Matilda, could you please show Sakura to her bedroom's bathroom." Kushina requested.

"Wait, my bedroom has a bathroom?" Sakura asked in awe.

"They all do, sweetheart. Makes it easy to have diplomatic visitors over." Matilda answered. "And it would be my pleasure, M'Lady." Matilda replied.

"Awesome..." Sakura gasped in awe as she was led away by Matilda.

Once Sakura was led away, Kushina now decided to take it upon herself to get some similar answers from her son.

"She's a cool girl." Kushina said.

"Oh you have no idea." Naruto said without thinking, making Kushina grin devilishly.

"Oh yea?" She asked.

"Yeah. She's my age, but she's a full blown medic. She's super smart and scary strong. I saw her punch this summons snake as big as the one that attacked our village, she punched it and sent it crashing to the ground. Plus, she's super nice." Naruto listed off.

"And she's pretty too." Kushina said, trying to get her son to tell her more.

"Oh yeah she is. I said she was even prettier than you." Naruto said without thinking.

Kushina was taken aback. There was never a girl he would consider prettier than herself. "Wow that's...pretty high praise there."

"Yeah. You're not made are you?" Naruto asked.

"Oh no, not at all." Kushina giggled. _'Yea, he likes her.'_

"So, what is she to you?" Kushina asked.

"My friend?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Uh huh. Do you like her?"

"Well, yea. She's my friend." Naruto reaffirmed.

"That's not what I mean. Do you like her?" Kushina pressed.

"I don't think I understand the question." Naruto admitted.

 _'Sage of Six Paths, my son is dim.'_ Kushina thought as she put on a bright smile.

"Well in any case, that's great that you made a new friend. And so talented too."

"Yea she's amazing." Naruto sighed.

 _'Oh my god, he's crushing on her real bad.'_ Kushina thought giddily. _'Too bad he's too dumb to know that he's crushing. Ah well, all part of the fun I guess.'_ Kushina sighed.

* * *

Upstairs, Sakura walked into her room for the first time and was instantly floored by how luxurious it was.

"Woooaahh...I sleep here?!" She exclaimed.

"Yes, you do sweetheart. While the rooms don't contain a TV like you would have in a hotel, the closet space is ample and the bathrooms are stocked with towels and everything else you could need." Matilda listed off as she opened the curtains to reveal the beautiful garden view and the secret swimming pool hidden from the kitchen view.

"Ooohh...woooow..." Sakura said in awe.

"Yes, it is rather impressive, isn't it? I've helped Lady Kushina and the gardener with many of the plants you see there." Matilda smiled.

"It's beautiful..." Sakura said in awe.

"Thank you. Perhaps you can help us with it one day. It's one of Lady Kushina's favorite things to do. Right up there with marathoning action movies."

"I'll be sure to do just that." Sakura smiled.

"Here, I'll show you the bathroom." Matilda said as she led Sakura to the bathroom. It was a double door bathroom so right off the bat she knew it was going to be luxurious. Hardly anything in this house wasn't. Once those doors opened, she squealed.

A stone shower stall with 10 angled shower ports that were all angled to one spot. There was no curtain or door, just a 2'ft tall wall section where she could have full view of the outside. The windows were sectional bay windows with a perfect view of the garden.

Next to it, was a large tub with Jacuzzi jets. Next she saw the counter that was made of chiseled limestone with two sinks. then there was the toilet offset from the sink. The floors were polished marble tiles as were the walls and above the sink was a large mirror with lights framing the glass.

It was the bathroom that dreams were made of.

"This is the guest bathroom?!" Sakura squealed.

"It is. Lord Minato sometimes has many foreign diplomats come to visit and he prefers the personal touch to hospitality. That means putting up with a few snooty men and women who wouldn't settle for a mere shower." Matilda explained.

"It's amazing!" Sakura squealed, but then she realized that with that large window, there was like zero privacy. "Not much on privacy though."

"Who says? The windows are one way. You can see out of them, but not in them." Matilda informed.

"This place is incredible." Sakura said in awe.

"So now you have a tough decision. Tub or shower?" Matilda giggled.

"Why not both?" Sakura giggled back.

"So one then the other?" Matilda asked.

"A tub to relax and then a shower to wash it all away." Sakura decided.

"My my, someone is ready for the spoiled life." Matilda laughed.

"After living like a nomad for 13 years? Hell yea I am!"

Matilda giggled. "Well, you make yourself at home. Just press this button if you need anything." She said as she pointed to a grey button on the side of the wall.

"Thank you. I'll be right out." Sakura said as she unpacked her things.

"Allow me to help you." Matilda said.

"Oh no that's okay. I like my things in a particular way." Sakura waved off.

"Very good. I'll return back to M'Lady's side. You sure that you don't need anything? A snack, specific brand of shampoo?"

"I just ate 5 bowls of Ramen so I'm good. And I use whatever shampoo... actually, do you have any strawberry scented shampoo?" Sakura asked as she let down her hair.

"We do in fact. I'll have to go fetch it."

"Thank you." Sakura smiled as she turned the water on in the tub and removed her heeled boots.

Matilda left and Sakura started taking off the rest of her clothes. First she went for her up and pulled it over her head, revealing her...wrap? She always wore it while being on the road to keep perverts away. She undid her wrap and her rather firm B sized bosom was exposed.

 _'Ugh...so good to get that off...'_ Sakura thought. It was the first time in over a week since she's taken that off.

She then worked on removing her skirt, letting it fall to the floor, then her shorts and her stockings. leaving herself in just her panties when she heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Sakura called.

"It's me again. I've got your strawberry shampoo, fresh from the hallways supply closet." Matilda said.

"Oh okay. Come in." Sakura invited.

Matilda walked in just as Sakura shut the water off. That's when she noticed her lack of apparel. "Oh dear me. I'm sorry."

"No you're fine. We're both girls so what's the problem?" Sakura waved off.

"It's modesty, child. Certainly your mother taught you that." Matilda said.

Sakura frowned sadly. "No... she and my dad were killed..."

Matilda gasped. "Oh my, I'm so sorry, my poor child."

"It's okay...it was an unfortunate circumstance..."

"Still though, if you'd ever like to talk about it, I'd be willing to lend an ear."

Then Matilda saw the intricate seal on her chest. _'That seal. It's just like the one Little Naruto has on his naval.'_ She realized.

 _'Oh no...'_ Sakura thought. No point in denying it now. "I'm the 6 tails Jinchuriki. My parents were killed by the 6 tailed slug, but it was an accident."

Matilda gasped. "Oh my..."

"Saiken was just defending herself and my parents were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't blame her for it."

"Well that's a little beyond me, being a civilian and all." Matilda admitted.

"Well regardless. It's in the past now and she has since apologized for it." Sakura sighed.

"Right, so, will that be all?" Matilda asked.

"Yes, thank you." Sakura smiled before checking the water to be warm, the exact perfect temperature.

"Well, I'll leave you alone. You have a nice soak." Matilda bowed before making her way out of the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

Sakura sighed before pulling down her panties, leaving her completely in her birthday suit. She carefully stepped into the hot water and eased herself into it.

"Ahhhhh...I so needed this..." Sakura sighed contently as she let the jets message her sore joints.

 _ **'You're...sure you're okay about what happened to your parents?'**_ Saiken asked shamefully.

 _'I am. I was too young to remember them and I don't regret the time spent with Tsunade or Shizune. And you've been a good friend to me.'_ Sakura thought as she cracked her joints.

 _ **'Still though...I still feel really bad for what happened...'**_

 _'Saiken, its fine. You know I don't blame you and you didn't mean to do what you did, you were defending yourself and they got too close.'_ Sakura then yawned. _'Its fine...'_

 _ **'It doesn't feel fine. But thank you...'**_

 _'Just don't worry about it...'_ Sakura thought as she continued to relax. She was starting to feel really sleepy.

 _ **'Hey, I just happened to think of something that you should do. Don't wear the wrap anymore.'**_

 _'Huh? Why?'_

 _ **'So Naruto can drool over you more.'**_ Saiken smirked.

 _'What!? I don't want him...drooling over me!'_ Sakura exclaimed.

 _ **'I didn't mean like he would be drooling on you. I meant that he wouldn't be able to take his eyes off you.'**_

 _'Now why would I want that?'_

 _ **'You're crushing on him, aren't you?'**_

 _'Yeah… and?'_

 _ **'Well, what if he is for you?'**_

 _'Well then we'll talk about it, won't we?'_ Sakura thought nervously.

 _ **'Besides. You're taking up roots here anyway. I don't think any of the creeps you've met on the road would be here.'**_

 _'But Lord Jiraiya is here.'_

 _ **'And? Like Tsunade would let him do anything, neither would you for that matter. Come on, he just opened his home up to you and helped get you 3 to the Leaf and end a life of living like a nomad. I'm not saying to let the girls out in front of him, just lose the wrap is all.'**_

 _'Fine.'_ Sakura thought.

Sakura yawned again. This bath was really loosening her up. soon, she started dozing off until she fell asleep.

* * *

Downstairs, an hour had gone by and still no sign of Sakura emerging. Naruto was getting concerned.

"Um, has Sakura been in the shower for a long time, or is it just me?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"It's been about an hour." Kushina said as she sat in her recliner, reading a book.

"Maybe I should go check on her." Naruto thought aloud.

"You don't need to do that Naruto, I can-" Matilda said before she was cut off by Kushina.

"Ah shhh shhh shhh, no you can go get her Naruto." Kushina said with a smile and Matilda realized what her employer was doing.

Naruto raised an eyebrow but got up off the floor and made his way to Sakura's room. Once he arrived at the door, he knocked but there was no answer.

"You're a very mischievous woman, Lady Kushina." Matilda smiled.

"They both have feelings for each other so why not help it along?" Kushina giggled.

"Poor boy is too innocent. The shock could kill him." Matilda teased.

"He's almost 13. he'll figure it out sooner or later." Kushina smiled her mischievous smile.

Naruto knocked again, but still no answer.

"Sakura-chan?" He called, but still nothing. Now he was really worried.

He opened the bedroom door and saw that her stuff was still here, but she wasn't.

 _'Did she leave?'_ Naruto thought with dread. He had hoped she didn't. Then he heard something in the bathroom and looked to see that the door was still open a crack.

He knocked lightly but there was still no answer, so he gently pushed it open and his eyes bulged out.

There she was, completely in the buff, sleeping in the tub with the jacuzzi jets still going.

"S-sakura-chan?!" Naruto exclaimed, enough to wake her up.

"ZHT! Huh, what?" Sakura asked as she splashed her way to consciousness.

 _'Oh Lord, did I fall asleep in the tub?'_ Sakura thought as she looked over at the other person standing in the room with her with a dopey look on his face and a single drop of blood dripping down his nose.

Down in the living room, Matilda was pouring Kushina and herself a cup of tea.

"How do you think it's going?" Kushina asked.

"PERVERT!" Sakura screamed, filling the entire house with her shrieks.

"Like that, Ma'am." Matilda replied.

"No, no! It's not like that! You've been in here for a whole hour and we got worried!" Naruto defended while looking the other way.

Sakura threw a soup bar at Naruto, hitting him square in the head.

"GET OUT!"

"I'm sorry!" He yelled before running out of the bathroom.

Kushina sighed as she took a sip of her tea. _'Lovely.'_ She thought. "Matilda, would you mind going up there and calming Sakura down? I'd do it myself but..."

Matilda put down her tea cup with a smile. "You never have to ask, M'Lady." Matilda replied as she headed upstairs, passing a blushing Naruto on his way down.

"She's pissed..." Naruto said while nursing the bump on his head.

"Ha ha, apparently." Matilda chuckled.

Once Matilda made it to Sakura's room, her bedroom door was still open, but could hear sobs from the bathroom.

"Sakura? Honey? It's me, Matilda." She called out as she neared the door.

"(Sniff)...come in..." Sakura responded.

Matilda stepped inside to see Sakura sitting on the edge of the tub wrapped up in a towel. She was crying her eyes out.

"Sakura, sweetie...what's wrong?" Matilda asked softly as she walked over to her.

"...he saw me..." Sakura sobbed. "...I thought he was my friend...but he's just another pervert..."

"Now, now...he didn't mean to look I'm sure. It had been over an hour and he was concerned for you. I'm willing to bet that because you didn't answer his knocks, because I did hear him knock quite a few times, that he got worried and came in to check." Matilda explained.

"H-he did?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"Yes, he did. Now he's down stairs rubbing a bump on his head. How did he get that?"

"I... threw a soap bar at his head..." Sakura shamefully admitted.

Matilda giggled. "Well the poor boy is downstairs and I think he's a little shook'en up. He probably feels bad for making you upset."

Now Sakura felt ashamed of herself. "Oh... I'm such a..." She sobbed before feeling herself being wrapped up in a warm hug.

"It was a mistake, it was all just a big misunderstanding." Matilda soothed as she petted Sakura's wet hair. "If you just apologize I'm certain that he'll forgive you."

"...e-even after...I...yelled at him and...threw a bar of soap at him...?" Sakura sniffed.

"Trust me child, he'll forgive you. His heart is too big to hold a grudge like that." Matilda said.

Sakura continued to sob, but nodded.

"Now...how about you continue to get cleaned up and come down stairs and talk to the poor boy? He is a little dim, but he has a big heart."

"Okay..." Sakura sniffed.

"How about I help you out? I've got more than enough experience helping out Lady Kushina." Matilda offered.

"Okay..." Sakura repeated.

"Where did you leave off?" Matilda asked.

"I...just wrapped a towel around myself..." Sakura said.

"Well if you take care of your neck down I can handle your hair." Matilda smiled.

"Okay..."

"First, let's drain this old water out and get some fresh water in." Matilda said.

"Okay..."

Matilda pulled up the plug to let the dirty water flow down the drain so fresh water could be put in its place. Once the water was gone, Matilda turned the knob to add fresh water that was at just the right temperature.

"You can remove your towel and slide back in now." Matilda instructed.

Sakura nodded and removed her towel and pushed it on the floor. She slid her body back into the water as it was filling up and laid against the back wall of the tub.

Matilda then took Sakura's hair and dipped it under the water. Getting it nice and wet to add the shampoo, which she lathered into her hair with a little scalp massage. Once it was good and soapy, Matilda then flipped her hair over to get the hair in the back of Sakura's head then repeated the same process of lather and massage.

Matilda hummed a soothing tune as Sakura rubbed a soapy washcloth along her skin.

The older woman then poured water into Sakura's head to wash away the shampoo to repeat the process with conditioner.

* * *

Within minutes, Sakura was out of the tub drying herself on the nearby wooden bench while Matilda combed her hair, starting from the very ends and working her way up to get all the tangles out.

"You didn't have to do this, but I appreciate it." Sakura said, now a lot calmer.

"It's my job, dear. Plus, I like taking care of people. It's what I live for." Matilda smiled.

"Did you ever think about becoming a doctor?" Sakura asked.

"No, I can't say that I ever did. Even so, there just wouldn't have been enough money there for me to go to medical school." Matilda said a little sadly.

"Who said about paying anyone? I was trained by Lady Tsunade and she's right here in the village. I'm sure she wouldn't mind training you."

"That sounds lovely, but I'm at that certain age that I just couldn't keep up. No, I'm better off helping people in other ways. Smaller ways." Matilda smiled. "But thank you."

"Fair enough." Sakura said as she finished drying her lady parts. She could feel the tugging on her hair and began to think about things. "You know, I've been thinking of cutting my hair."

"Any particular reason?"

"It's too long. Sometimes I sit on it." Sakura stated.

"What if I told you that Little Naruto loves long hair on girls?" Matilda teased.

"Wait, he does?" Sakura asked with curiosity.

"He does." Matilda said.

"Huh..." Sakura had to think about it. She had come to terms with crushing on him and now wanted to look good for him. But at the same time, her hair always got in the way. Shortening it a little shouldn't be too much of a big deal. "Can...you cut it to about here?" Sakura asked as she reached behind her to mark out the spot where she wanted it to be cut to, which was about a little more than halfway down her back.

"You know I was kidding, right?" Matilda smirked.

"I'm not." Sakura said seriously.

"Well I can still cut your hair." Matilda said as she went to fetch the scissors from the drawers.

"Thank you. Believe it or not...and don't you tell Naruto or Kushina, but...I..."

"You don't have to tell me. I figured you liked him like that." Matilda said.

"Kushina also figured it out. That's why she sent her son up to check up on you in the first place."

"She sent him?!" Sakura exclaimed with a blush that covered her entire face.

"She wanted to 'help you two out' as she put it."

"Oh really..." Sakura grumbled. God, she would get around to asking him out on her own time, not on someone else's.

"Look...I get she wants to see her son with someone nice. Lady Tsunade wants to see me as well as Shizune with someone nice as well. But I will get around to asking him out when I feel the time is right. Or if he asks me out." Sakura said firmly.

"Of course. I apologize on her behalf. Lady Kushina can be very...eccentric... But she always means well." Matilda said as she wrapped up Sakura's hair in a towel.

Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to snap like that. It's just...between my master, the 6 tails and now Kushina, it's starting to get on my nerves. I've only known him...what, a little more than a week now? I would like to wait at least a full month, you know? I barely know the guy."

"Of course. I felt the same way about my own husband. These things take time, but for older women like us it seems so obvious and we can't help but project. Just do what feels natural and things will work out." Matilda smiled.

"Thank you." Sakura smiled.

"No problem." Matilda said as she stood back up. "How about I fetch you some fresh clothes? Let you finish freshening up?"

"Did you cut my hair already?" Sakura asked.

"Oops, my mistake, I've forgotten." Matilda said.

Matilda then unwrapped Sakura's hair from her towel and started combing her hair again, this time however she took the scissors and delicately began snipping off her longer bangs to Sakura's specified length.

"Would you like me to braid it?" Matilda asked.

"Hmm...I don't think I've ever had my hair braided...sure, why not?"

Matilda got right to work, braiding Sakura's hair into a weave that wrapped around the back of her head. (Like Asuna from Sword Art Online abridged.)

While she was doing that, Sakura had draped the towel over herself to at least pretend to be modest.

"So, you said you were trained by Lady Tsunade. How is that?" Matilda asked.

"Ugh...It was a pain in the ass to be blunt." Sakura groaned, remembering back to the countless hours of back breaking training.

"How so?" Matilda asked.

"Well, learning to be a medic was only part of my training. The other training was to become as strong as she is. Which, by the way, if you're not absolutely precise on your chakra control, it can wreck your body."

"Hmmm... I see..." Matilda said. She didn't see, being a civilian, but decided to take Sakura at face value. After a few more minutes, Matilda was finished with Sakura's hair.

"All done, sweetie." She smiled proudly.

"Really?" Sakura asked before she stood up to see herself in the mirror. One look was all it took to make her gasp.

"Oh wow." Sakura breathed out. She never had her hair done like this before. It was simply stunning that it could look this good.

"I know right, you look beautiful, darling." Matilda smiled.

"Yea...well, save for not wearing any clothes at the moment."

"Yes, besides that." Matilda laughed.

"Although, I gotta say, I don't think Naruto could resist this." Sakura smirked before striking a pose in the mirror. "He already saw me, now he has to work hard for it."

"Oooohhh, damn right girl. Work it!" Matilda cheered. Sakura couldn't help but giggle. This was the most fun she's had.

"I gotta say though. Your chest is quite above average size for someone your age." Matilda admitted.

"Comes with Lady Tsunade's training." Sakura shrugged.

"I was gonna say. Just what is she feeding you? My own daughter would have loved to know your secret."

"Training and diet, really. I can eat whatever I want because I'm very active. The training also boosted my metabolism so I burn off just as much calories as I take in and I still get to keep a rockin' figure."

"Amen sister." Matilda laughed.

Sakura laughed along. "Alright, I need to get dressed now."

"Yes. Like I said earlier, do you want me to fetch you some clothes while you freshen up, or something else?"

"I have another outfit like what I was wearing, just less revealing."

"Sounds good. I think I can find it." Matilda said as she opened up the door to enter the bedroom.

Sakura just went back to admiring herself in the mirror. _'Damn...like this, he'll be glued to me no matter what.'_ She thought.

 _ **'Is it me or do you change your tone a lot?'**_ Seiken thought.

 _'Hey, if I'm that easy to read, I might as well roll with it now. Besides, it's not like I'm gonna give in easy or any time soon.'_

 _ **'Fine, whatever. Just don't lead the poor boy on. Guys have a notorious time picking up signals.'**_

 _'No I won't do that. I'll just be like I have been around him. No changes. But, I do need to talk to him about what happened earlier...I gotta apologize for that...'_

 _ **'And if he were to ask you out?'**_

 _'Um...well...I guess, if it happens then I'll accept. But he's a little dumb so who knows what will happen?'_ Sakura replied before going into the bedroom to see that Matilda had laid out her outfit.

Sakura put on her outfit of a sleeveless red jacket with a pink skirt and black spandex shorts.

"You look amazing, dear." Matilda praised.

"Thank you. I feel amazing." Sakura said. She couldn't remember the last time she had a bath so nice. The closest she ever got was visiting the hot springs every now and again. Usually all she had to content with were hotel showers.

"Well, what say we mosey on down stairs? I now a confused boy who needs a talking to." Matilda suggested.

Sakura nodded, although she was nervous. This was about to be a very awkward moment for the two of them.

* * *

Downstairs, Naruto had been listening to his mother's laughter the whole time.

"Mom..." Naruto groaned. "It was embarrassing..."

"I'm sorry, I know it was terrible, but consider it your punishment for pranking Ayame with those worms." Kushina said.

"Worms? That was three months ago!" Naruto exclaimed.

"And I said I'd get you back for her sake." Kushina said.

Naruto just grumbled in protest.

"Did we miss something?" Matilda asked as she walked in with Sakura in tow.

"Not really. We were just...oh...wooow..." Kushina breathed out when she finally got to see Sakura. It was like night and day from before.

Naruto wasn't facing in Sakura's direction at first, but he knew she came into the room.

"Sakura-chan...I'm...really sorry about earlier. It was-" He cut himself off when he saw her now. More modest clothes than before, but her hair was done up in a way that made his jaw drop. And her chest seemed to double in size from the last time he saw her. "I...I..." He stammered.

Kushina and Matilda couldn't help but giggle.

"It's okay Naruto, really. I was out of line too. I didn't realize that you were there looking for me. Let's just forget it ever happened, okay?" Sakura smiled.

"Uh...uh...s-sure..." Naruto stammered. He had never seen anyone so beautiful before.

"Good. Now then, how about you show me around? I wanna see the sights." Sakura smiled a smile that made Naruto's heart skip a beat.

Naruto snapped out of his stupor and smiled. "Sure!"

* * *

As they left to go look around the town, Tsunade was going over Kushina's medical file on the hospital while Shizune stood by her side.

"Complete and total destruction of her chakra network...damn..." Tsunade cursed as she set the file down on the desk and sighed.

"There's nothing we can do, is there?" Shizune asked.

"Sigh...There is a couple of ways, but not without risking her life. The first would be to create a whole new chakra network for her core to channel through. The next would be to do a complete network transplant. Both have a high fatality rate. The last one would be to enhance her physical therapy." Tsunade listed off.

Shizune nodded as sweat formed on her forehead.

"Her physical therapy through us would be a much more efficient way to get her back to at least a manageable level. She'll have more pep in her step, but what surprises me is that she's even still alive. Having the 9 tails extracted from her should have killed her." Tsunade said.

"It's that Uzumaki blood is what saved her." Shizune deduced.

"Yes...which is why I'm going to talk to Minato about these options." Tsunade said before standing up.

Tsunade and Shizune made their way back to Minato's room, where he was putting up a fuss about staying in bed.

"Seriously, I feel 100 times better now." Minato protested.

"Well, you're still staying one more night." Tsunade said firmly before grabbing a chair and sitting down next to his bed. "Besides, we have a couple of things to discuss."

"What about?" Minato asked.

"About Kushina." Tsunade said, earning a serious, yet hopeful look from Minato.

"You have a few options for her." She started. "But first, her chakra network was completely destroyed and only her core remained intact. So, there is no repairing her network."

"Yes, the doctors told us as much 12 years ago." Minato said sadly.

"So here are the options. Option one; make a completely new chakra network from scratch. Her core is still strong and we should be able to map out a new system using what remains of her network as a guide. Option two is a complete network transplant with a compatible donor. Mind you, these two options, if successful, would bring her back to Shinobi status, but it has an 80% fatality rate each, roughly."

"I see, and is there a third option?" Minato asked.

"The last option would be a more enhanced physical therapy done by myself and Shizune. It's much more efficient than what the bonehead doctors here have done, but it will take longer. The end result would make her a lot more mobile than she is, but she can never mold Chakra again."

"I see..." Minato sighed as he leaned against his bed. He had expected as much bad news. He looked out the window for a few moments to think.

"You know we've had this conversation before. Me and my wife about what we would do if we were ever presented with the option to give her back her full strength. To make her a shinobi again..." Minato reminisced. "Do you know what she told me? She told me, 'What's the point? Even if I became a ninja again you'd still keep me from going on missions.'"

"And if she could, would you?" Tsunade asked.

Minato closed his eyes. "No, I wouldn't. I couldn't." He admitted.

"Well then when I release you, we all have some things to discuss. Will she risk her life to become a Shinobi again? Or take the safe route and remain a civilian?"

"You don't understand. She understands this, she told me herself. She can never be a shinobi again because she's my wife. The wife of a Hokage. Should she ever get hurt, killed, or kidnapped out in the field. Hell, if it ever happened to Naruto...the village wouldn't have a Hokage anymore. It would have a father and husband worried out of his mind. The most powerful man in the Land of Fire, off making rash and impulsive decisions on the slim chance of it keeping his family safe. That is the nightmare scenario." Minato explained.

"She also told me this..." Minato said.

 **flashback**

"So the doctors want me to risk my life? For what? A chance at getting my chakra back and still being a stay at home mom?" Kushina asked.

"My sweet tomato, listen. There are other jobs for you inside the Leaf. Jobs that only a ninja can do. I want you to be happy and I know you'd hate bumming around the house all day." Minato tried to placate his wife.

"Sparky, I don't care about being a ninja. I was ready to give up being a kunoichi when I married you. I was ready to give it up when you became Hokage. I was ready to give it up when I learned that we were having Naruto. Alright? I want to be a great wife to you and an amazing mother to Naruto. I want a family. And I won't risk that just for some powers I don't need anymore." Kushina said firmly. "Do you understand me?"

 **flash forward**

"I see..." Tsunade sighed. "Then...I'll put her down for the enhanced physical therapy. With her circumstance, it should take about 3 years to complete, maybe shorter. It will take place in your home for 4 hours a day each day, with either myself or Shizune there. It will alternate day by day and for the first several months, this will be the norm until I start to see improvement."

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I shall inform my wife beforehand to confirm that this is what she wants." Minato bowed from his seated position in bed.

"Is there anything else I can do?" Tsunade asked, to which Minato started to speak before being cut off by Tsunade. "That doesn't involve an early discharge?"

"Tell me about your student perhaps? I'd like to know about this girl my son has become smitten with." Minato smirked that devilish smirk of his.

"What would you like to know?" Tsunade smiled.

"Well, everything." Minato shrugged.

"I had adopted her from a small village that had been attacked by the 6 tails. Actually, attacked isn't the right word for it. The 6 Tails was attacked and it was only defending itself." Tsunade started. "Her parents were killed when they got too close to the 6 Tails' attack, leaving poor Sakura with no family."

"That's terrible. What happened to the Six Tails?"

"I sealed it inside Sakura."

Minato took in a breath and sighed. "So, she's the 6 Tails Jinchuriki I take it."

"Yes, she is. however, she has learned to communicate with the 6 Tails and it even works side by side with Sakura. Just a few days ago, she was able to calmly and effortlessly control the 6 Tails Cloak up to two tails." Tsunade added.

Minato looked at Tsunade like she had dropped from the moon. "That is...extremely impressive."

"I agree. She's no longer the scared little girl from 8 years back. She's a strong willed and blossoming woman who is dedicated to helping those closest to her. I trained her in medicine and still doing so as well as gave her my physical training."

"However, there was a moment when she had lost control of Saiken's power." Tsunade said seriously.

"Under what circumstances?"

"When Naruto was injured. We had encountered Orochimaru and Kabuto, the latter of whom is sitting in your prison right now, and Kabuto hit him with a jutsu that nearly stopped his heart. That was a week after Naruto and Jiraiya found us."

"Is that so? I'll be sure to pay this Kabuto a visit down in the T&I department." Minato said.

"Kabuto works for Orochimaru so treat him with the same courtesy you'd treat a traitor. But when Sakura saw that Naruto was dying, it sent her into a rage and took on the 3 tailed cloak. Something made her stop just short of ripping Kabuto to shreds and we were able to capture him."

"I see... I have to ask this as the man in charge of keeping this village safe. Is Sakura a threat to this village as a jinchuriki?" Minato said with very serious eyes.

"No, she's not. Saiken does its best to keep Sakura even tempered and can usually talk her out of any situation that would cause her to go into a rage. The 6 Tails is gentle and caring in nature, but will defend itself if attacked."

"Very well. I trust your judgement, just don't expect the rest of the councils to be so open to allowing another jinchuriki to live in the village." Minato said bitterly. Throwing Tsunade and Shizune for a loop.

"Councils? What do they matter? You're the Hokage. You have absolute authority." Tsunade said.

"In times of war, yes, but these are times of peace and things have changed since you left the village 25 years ago."

"How so?" Tsunade asked, not liking the sound of this.

"I'm afraid that one of the Third Lord's last acts was to create two new councils in the Leaf to act as a system of checks and balances to the Hokage position. The Clan Council and the Civilian Council." Minato explained. "The Clan Council being run by the shinobi side of the populous. Dealing with matters involving shinobi rules and regulations as well as laws concerning them. They are supposed to only be made up of respected shinobi from our forces, but in elections the winners are always heads of major ninja clans. Changing the name from the Shinobi Council to the Clan Council. The Civilian handles the laws governing the day to day lifestyle of the village itself. Setting trade and taxes. I still have to approve everything and can veto any proposal I see fit, and in times of war all power is to be given to me to avoid the gridlock of peacetime democracy. But I have lost a lot power as Hokage." Minato said.

"So, it's all a bureaucracy now..." Tsunade grumbled.

"Your master felt it was necessary. In order for the village to move forward into an era of peace it needed to modernize and not be run by the whims of one man. Even him." Minato said.

"Well I can tell you right now. If they refuse Sakura then they are damn fools. Her skills and strength are almost comparable to mine in terms of combat. Her power using the 2 tailed cloak outmatches mine and Jiraiya's put together and she's a medic in training with my medical skills. She is quite literally the perfect Shinobi if there ever was one."

"And that would be all excellent credentials, except for..." Minato hesitated.

"Except for what?"

* * *

Meanwhile on the other side of the village, Naruto was showing Sakura around to all his favorite hangout spots.

"Man this place is huge...and you guys call this a village?" Sakura asked in amazement.

"Kinda redundant I know. I'm told it used to be a village back when it was founded, but as it grew nobody bothered to change the name. Probably because a ninja city just didn't have the same ring as ninja village." Naruto chuckled.

"Yea I guess...but still, this is quite amazing and I've been to the Hidden Cloud Village in my travels.

"No way, what's that like?" Naruto asked as he led her across a red wooden bridge.

"It's actually not as big as here, mainly because it was built in and on a mountain range."

"No way, that's insanely cool." Naruto said.

"Yeah. Still, I think I prefer the Leaf. It's got a more charming feel to it, you know? A real friendly vibe." Sakura smiled as she looked at all the cute little shops while Naruto ignored the stares he was getting.

"Ooh. Let's go in there." Sakura pointed to nice looking shoe shop specializing in ninja foot wear. A shop that Naruto recognized.

"Uhhh...how about a different one?" Naruto said nervously.

"Why, what's wrong with this one?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing. Just uh...this other one is better." Naruto said quickly as he tried to pull her away.

"But the boots in their window look so cute!" Sakura protested. "Just a quick peak in, just to try a few pairs on." She said as she freed herself from Naruto's grip.

 _'Great...'_ Naruto thought in dread.

Sakura quickly made her way into the shop and it was like a girls paradise for shoes. "Woahh..." She said in awe.

"Hello there, how can I help you?" A middle aged lady asked Sakura as she came from behind the counter.

"Is it okay that I browse and try on shoes? Specifically that pair in the window?" Sakura asked as she pointed to the pair of shoes she saw in the window.

"Of course, my dear. Do you know what your size is? I can fetch you a pair right now." The kind old woman offered.

"Um..." Sakura paused before she knelt down to take a look at her shoe size just as Naruto walked in behind her. "Looks like it's a 5. Hard to tell honest-"

"You, get out!" The old woman snapped in a harsh tone.

"Huh? What did I do?" Sakura asked.

"Not you, him!" The old crow pointed at the boy standing behind Sakura. It took her a second to realize that the woman was referring to Naruto.

"I wasn't doing anything." Naruto defended.

"He just walked in here, what's wrong with that?" Sakura asked.

"What's wrong is that brat is still breathing. Get out of my shop or I shall call the Police!" The woman shouted like she was being threatened.

"Woah, what did you just say?!" Sakura snapped.

"Young lady, you know who that is, right?" The old bat asked.

"Yes, Naruto Namikaze. Son of the 4th Hokage. What's your point?"

"He's the son of a demon is what he is! Not our beloved Hokage!" The woman snapped.

"A demon? Excuse me?" Sakura barked, not buying this lady's accusations.

"Oh, don't tell me you're one of those demon lovers too. You can get the Hell out of my shop as well. The village doesn't need your kind around here." The woman spat.

"Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about. I just arrived here today with my master Tsunade Senju." Sakura said.

"I don't care if you've come back with the reincarnated 2nd Hokage himself. I will not service demons or demon lovers of any kind in my place of business." The woman folded her arms.

"Oh, so now you go and accuse tourists to your village who know nothing about what goes on here. How are you still in business with such crappy customer service?" Sakura snapped.

"Oh, insulting my business now, are we? That's just like a demon lover to change the subject." The woman snapped.

"If the shoe fits, wear it." Sakura smirked.

"Oh, very clever. Maybe you can tell that to the Police when they come to arrest you two for loitering and trespassing. I'm calling them right now." The woman said as she retreated behind her counter to pick up the phone.

"Pfft...ignorance sure is bliss in this town ain't it? Come on Naruto. Let's leave this crotchety old skank to live with her head up her ass." Sakura huffed before turning to walk out with Naruto in tow.

Naruto did just that as a crowd began to gather around the shoe shop where people had heard screaming. "Yeah that's right, run demon. Run and hide!"

"Hey, there's a shit stain in your building! Oh wait! It's just you!" Sakura snapped back. The woman continued to scream as Sakura lead Naruto away. "So, I take it that was what you were so hesitant to tell me before."

"It is..." Naruto said as the crowd that gathered began to push and shove one another. Thankfully the cops had been called and were already on route.

"Pfft...you could have told me. I've dealt with it before." Sakura said like it was no big deal.

"I very much doubt that." Naruto said. "Not on my level anyway."

"Oh no. We were only chased out of the Hidden Grass Village by townsfolk with weapons and threats of being killed. That was back when I was 7 and Saiken's chakra leaked out on accident. They're just ignorant pricks, they don't know any better."

"Oh sure. You got to run away from them and never looked back. Me, I had to live with them..." Naruto said bitterly.

Sakura was taken aback. "What?" Then her eyes grew dark. "What did they do to you..." She growled.

"What didn't they do? I've been attacked, called names, ignored, and hated all because I have the Kyuubi inside me, all because of the incident 12 years ago on my birthday." Naruto tightened his fist as the memories came flooding back. "The parents who didn't outright hate me would tell their kids to stay away from me just so that their kids wouldn't face the same treatment. I had no friends growing up. Just my parents and the servants we have working for us."

Sakura tightened her fist in anger. "Those miserable, ignorant..." She had to stop before she lost control and took a deep breath. "Breath, Sakura. Breath...calm down..." She said to herself.

"But that wasn't the worst thing they ever did..." Naruto said.

Sakura held up her hand. "Tell me later, please. I'm already on the verge of snapping."

"Maybe I won't. I'm sorry I mentioned it, just forget it." Naruto said as he thought back to that day.

He was 10 years old and his mother had been working tirelessly for years on her physical training. All to regain the strength she had lost the night that the Kyuubi was extracted from her. She had finally gained enough strength to be able to walk down to the market Square with her own two feet, for the first time in 10 years. Naruto and Minato felt such joy as they led her down the road, stopping at each of the shops. The ANBU staying hidden, but close behind.

All was going great until some faceless man walked near to Naruto and spit on his mother's face.

Naruto didn't remember the next few minutes all that well. He might have attacked the man, or his father did, or maybe the ANBU interfered beforehand. All they knew after the fact was that the man hated Naruto's mother because she was a former jinchuriki.

He was a total stranger to Naruto. He had never met Naruto's mother or even had a conversation with her, yet he decided that he hated her enough to spit on her in the streets.

It made Naruto shake just thinking about it.

He wanted to scream, kick, get into a fight, rip that man a new asshole. His mother cried that day. He wanted to unleash the Kyuubi and reduce the population of the Leaf to just himself and his family. Then there would be no more hatred left to feel.

"Just know this, Naruto-kun. One day, their actions against you and, god forbid, your family will come back to bite them in the ass. Karma is a two way street." Sakura said firmly as they continued to walk.

"There is no Karma, Sakura-chan." Naruto said grimly. "If there was, I'd be completely justified in unleashing the Kyuubi."

The two of them didn't speak for the entire walk home.

As they walked in the house, they were greeted by Matilda who always seemed to have that warm smile.

"How was your walk?" Matilda asked.

"Abysmal..." Sakura grumbled.

"It was fine." Naruto said quickly, hoping not to worry Matilda, who was in many ways like a second mother to him.

"Oh dear...she got a taste of the villagers' ignorance, didn't she?" Matilda asked in a concerned tone.

"Yes, sadly...but it's a good thing they don't know she has the 6 tails." Naruto said.

"They wouldn't dare do to me what they did to you. Because I WILL fight back."

"No, Sakura-chan. That's the one thing you won't do." Naruto said firmly.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"The last thing that needs to happen is for you to give them a reason to hate us. By us, I mean you and me. you said Karma is a two way street, well lashing out at them will only fuel their anger which will get the councils involved. My dad could very well be removed from office if not executed for letting in a second Jinchuriki without the approval of the council. It would ruin not only you and your surrogate family, but me and my family as well. Just please. If they do start to treat you badly, ignore it and try to get away. Don't engage them." Naruto explained seriously.

Sakura wanted to protest, but she knew he was right and took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay, Naruto-kun...I won't do a thing. I trust your judgement so I'll go along with what you think is best."

"Thank you, Sakura-chan." Naruto smiled sadly.

"It still isn't fair though..." Sakura insisted.

"I know it isn't...but the best thing to do is to not give into them." Naruto said.

"Yea, you're right..." Sakura sighed before putting a hand on his shoulder. "And hey...if you do ever wanna talk more, I am a good listener."

Naruto looked back at her with sad eyes, but nodded. "Okay Sakura-chan. Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Sakura smiled.

Ding-dong. Went the doorbell.

"Now who could that be?" Matilda thought as she went to go check.

She opened the door and in the doorway stood a police officer with black hair and dark eyes. "I demand to speak with Minato." He said with authority.

"He's still in the hospital." Matilda replied. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized exactly who this man was, and if it was up to her, he would never be a welcome guest in this house.

"In that case I'll need to speak to the other woman in charge of this house." The man said as he tried to take a step inside only to be blocked by Matilda.

"Now why do you need to go intimidating a sick woman?" Matilda asked.

"Move aside please." The man ordered.

"The law states that without a warrant a Police Officer may not enter the premise of private property without an invitation. And it'll be a cold day before I invite you in, Fugaku Uchiha." Matilda all but spat.

"You will respect me." Fugaku growled.

"Respect is given to those who earn it, not those who demand it." Matilda shot back.

"Naruto...who is that?" Sakura asked.

"Fugaku Uchiha. Head of the Clan Council, head of the Uchiha clan and chief of police...and a pain in my families ass." Naruto all but growled.

"You'd do well to watch your language when speaking to your superiors, boy. They might get the wrong impression." Fugaku spat at Naruto.

"In case you've forgotten. This compound is protected by the ANBU. Not your Police." Naruto stated. Making Fugaku's vein bulge.

"Is that a threat? Boy." Fugaku growled.

"Just a statement. Sir..." Naruto growled back.

The two stared each other down for quite a while. Enough to even make Sakura start to get nervous.

She almost sighed in relief when Fugaku blinked first.

"This is a waste of my time. I'm off to see your father. The next time I see you it had better be with a better attitude, brat. Perhaps your mother can teach you in the meantime." Fugaku said as he turned to leave.

"At least my mother knows how to treat people right." Naruto spat.

Fugaku didn't acknowledge his response as he kept walking until he reached the gate leading outside the compound and vanished from sight.

"Asshole." Sakura spat.

"Indeed." Matilda agreed. "But he has a great deal of power in this village and we need him on our side."

"I think that power has gone to his head." Sakura said.

"He's an Uchiha. Any power would go to his head." Naruto spat as he returned deeper inside his home.

Matilda sighed. "Sadly, he's right. The ones that doesn't seem to be that way are his sons, Itachi and Sasuke."

"Itachi is alright, but Sasuke is just as big of a prick as his father." Naruto spat.

Sakura just looked on in confusion and uncertainty. _'Do I really want to live in this village?'_ She thought.

"God, it's got me all pissed off." Naruto muttered to himself.

"How about you two go to the arcade to wind down? I'll bring you both some snacks and soda." Matilda suggested.

"Arcade?" Sakura stopped to ask. "You have an arcade in this house?" Sakura asked.

"In the basement." Naruto said emotionlessly. Truth was, it was a gift from his parents to him, who couldn't go to the arcade after school to make friends since the owner was a demon hater. So they bought a couple of machines for their son to play with in the wreck room. In the hopes that one day he would have some friends to bring over and show it to one day. And until today, all he had to show it to was the bratty kids of Daimyo's and a few other Lords. All of whom made a point of saying that their game room was bigger.

"Come on, I'll show you." Naruto said.

Sakura nodded and followed Naruto downstairs to the basement.

They reached the end of the stairs and turned left at the bar/theater lounge, where Naruto opened up a double door to a dark room and flipped the switches on the walls. The multicolored lights of the arcade games lit up before the house lights did and the duo found themselves facing a legitimate arcade of games to play. Face Blasters 2, Crazy Canoe, Frogs-Snakes-Slugs, Road Fighter V, Kid Pac-Man, House of the Nearly-Undying, Scrabble, and many more.

"Sweet Sage!" Sakura gasped out in amazement. "What doesn't this house have?!"

"A mini train and a slide. Dad said that he didn't want me to grow lazy moving from one place to another." Naruto said as he pulled out a coin from a nearly bin with the Namikaze four point circle surrounding the Uzumaki spiral.

"Here, the machines eject all coins as soon as they accept them, so you'll never run out." Naruto informed.

"That's just awesome..." Sakura said in awe. She might never want to leave this house now.

"You can keep that coin, we make them for nothing. That way you can always play these games. That is, if you want to..." Naruto said, being reminded of his lonely childhood after today.

"Are you kidding?" Sakura asked, making Naruto hesitate at the fear of being alone again. "All around the nations I hold the highest scores for all of these games. You couldn't pull me away from here!" She smiled brightly.

 _'Never mind.'_ Naruto thought happily. "High scores? You obviously haven't played against me then." Naruto challenged.

"Is that a challenge?" Sakura asked innocently.

"I don't know..." Naruto said as he swaggered up to get right in Sakura's face. "Is it?" He smirked.

 _'Oh my god...he's right in my face...'_ Sakura blushed.

 _ **'Kiss him.'**_ Saiken teased.

Naruto held another coin right up in between their faces. "Show me what you've got." He smirked.

Sakura looked at the coin and smirked before grabbing it. "You're on, Fox boy."

"Ladies first, Slug girl." Naruto smirked back.

"Don't mind if I do."

* * *

After a whole two hours, they were dead even in Kid Pac-Man. tied up 9 games apiece and this one would determine the winner of the whole thing.

"You look kinda tired, Slug girl. Feel like slowing down?" Naruto teased.

"Hell, no Fox boy. I'm just getting serious." Sakura shot back.

Sakura was so close. All she needed was the last power pellet and she'd win the whole-

 **BLONK**

"SHIT!" Sakura cursed.

"Ha ha, oh no, you almost had it..." Naruto said with fake sympathy. "You just needed that one power pellet and ooooooohhhh..."

"Yea yea, yuk it up..." Sakura grumbled.

"Oh, I will yuk it up." Naruto smirked as he started high fiving a million angels. "Hail to the King, baby."

"I gotta say...no one has ever been able to beat me at this game..." Sakura said softly.

Naruto stopped high fiving a million angels to look at her. "Well you know. Spend your afternoons at home, waiting for your dad to come home to train you and you end up getting pretty good at these games." Naruto said.

"I figured." Her sad frown turned into a bright smile. "I gotta say, this is the best challenge I've ever had. It was always so boring beating those scrubs in the public arcades in my travels that no one had ever given me a challenge before. But you..." She said as she started walking up to him. "You were by far the best and I'm proud that I lost for once."

"Tell me about it. Those sons of lords I talked to you about could never play for crap. Apparently their arcades were so big because they'd play a game once, lose, and then never play again." Naruto chuckled.

Sakura giggled. "Well that aside, I think you deserve a reward."

 _ **'Ooooh what are you going to give him?'**_ Saiken asked.

 _'Hmm...I'm not sure honestly...'_

 _ **'A kiss maybe?'**_

 _'Now why would I do that? I still don't know him well enough.'_

 _ **'I'm not talking about locking your lips with him. Just a friendly peck on his cheek. Nothing wrong with that, is there?'**_

Sakura thought it over and she had to admit that Saiken had an interesting point. Besides, she kinda wanted to anyway.

 _'Ehh...what the hell? It's just a peck on the cheek.'_

"What kind of reward?" Naruto asked.

"Close your eyes so I can get it for you." Sakura smiled.

"Wait, hold on. I've got a great idea." Naruto said.

"Like what?" Sakura asked.

Naruto held up his finger for Sakura to wait one second as he ran into the closet and pulled out a little spinning dial on a board.

"What the heck is that?" Sakura asked.

"The Wheel of Punishment." Naruto declared. "Something the Fire Daimyo's left behind a few years ago after the Great Gathering of Lords party at my house. He made all us kids of lords pay games with this as the penalty."

"And... what are the chosen penalties?" Sakura asked.

"Well it's got a variety of options. Reveal your darkest secret, wear donkey ears the rest of the night, eat something nasty of the winner's choice, go find dog poo to step in, kiss someone of the winner's choice, jump in a pool fully clothed, strip naked, be the winner's cup bearer, and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head." Naruto said. "Poor Resly Crinkle. His father still makes him wear donkey ears every time the Daimyo's son comes to visit."

"Uh huh...I'm...not sure I wanna do that for a couple of reasons." Sakura said hesitantly as she stared at the strip naked option.

 _ **'It's still got that kiss option though.'**_ Seiken pointed out.

 _'That's true, but with my luck, I'd get the naked one.'_

"Well we don't have to you if you don't want to. I just thought it could be a fun little thing we do. Every time we beat each other at these games, the loser has to spin the wheel." Naruto said.

 _'The loser, huh?'_ Sakura thought. the possibilities if he lost were endless. Then she came up with an idea. "Well if we do that, then we each gotta do it for every time we lost."

"Oh, you wanna do it like that huh? Fine by me. 5 spins for you and 4 spins for me. And you go first." Naruto said.

"Haaa...fine." Sakura sighed. She gave the spinner a quick twirl, hoping to land on everything BUT strip.

The dial began to slow its spin, going over dog poo, donkey ears, strip naked, and finally landing on...

"Jump in a pool." Naruto declared as the dial rested on that exact spot.

"Eh...could have been worse I suppose. So, let's make a list of everything we gotta do after we've taken our spins." Sakura suggested.

"Oh no. You gotta do the punishment now, in order." Naruto said.

"But I just got out of the bath!" Sakura complained. Literally, not 3 hours ago.

"You still gotta do it." Naruto smirked.

"Oh, fine...a deals a deal." Sakura sighed as they both made their way upstairs, Naruto carrying the board.

After a few moments, they made their way to the deck of the pool where Sakura was able to get a much better look at it now.

"Will nothing in this house cease to amaze me?" She asked as she viewed the sparkling clear water, the faux rock waterfall that went into the pool, diving board and a large water slide.

"Yea, it's cool, ain't it? Well, hop to it." Naruto smirked.

"Yea, yea..." Sakura sighed before making her way to the diving board. She climbed on and did a few jumps before jumping off the board, doing a couple of flips in the air that ended with a graceful dive into the water.

"Damn...she's got great diving skills..." Naruto said in awe just as she resurfaced.

"That wasn't so bad." Sakura said as she swam to the stairs and walked out of the pool, her clothes complete soaked and clinging to her body like plastic wrap. "You're turn."

"Alright." Naruto said as he spun the wheel and it landed on...

"Dog poop." Sakura smirked.

"Crap." Naruto cursed.

"You're right, it is." Sakura laughed.

Naruto grumbled as he walked back inside his house and down the hallway to the front door, followed by Sakura who was dropping wet.

"Hey kids." Kushina said as she watched them walk by and saw Sakura dripping wet.

"What are you doing?"

"Punishment game. Gotta go find some dog poo for Naruto to step in." Sakura explained.

"Ah, I see. Carry on, just wash your feet before you re-enter the house." Kushina said.

"Will do." Sakura smiled as she and Naruto went down the hallway, only to be greeted by Tsunade and Shizune being invited into the house.

"Sakura, we're here. Why are you soaking wet?" Tsunade asked with curiosity.

"We're playing the Punishment game. Every time one of us loses to a game, we have to spin the dial and do the punishment it says on the board. I got jump in the pool fully clothed and Naruto got Step in Dog Poo." Sakura snickered at the last part.

"Uh huh...well, alright then. Have fun." Tsunade said.

The two of them walked out the door and onto the street. "So, where are we going?"

"The Inuzuka compound. If I know one place that has a lot of dog crap, it's there. They train ninja dogs." Naruto grumbled.

"Ah, good thinking." Sakura said.

"Come on, let's get this over with." Naruto said as he took off in a ninja sprint down the road, followed closely behind by Sakura. They passed by the Hyuga compound, the Aburame compound, and finally the Inuzuka compound where Naruto held up the hand signal that told Sakura to freeze.

Sakura and Naruto came to a stop and looked upon the compound before them. "So, this is it I take it?"

"Yup. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any poop on the streets, so we're gonna have to sneak in." Naruto groaned.

"Losers first." Sakura smirked.

"Who's a loser?" Came a voice behind them.

Naruto and Sakura turned around to see a boy with a puppy on his head, with two dark red markings under his eyes and a hood that made him look like he had a mane.

"Oh uh... hey Kiba." Naruto said sheepishly.

"What are you doing here? You know my clan doesn't like your family." Kiba asked before eying Sakura. "And who's this?" He asked coyly.

"I'm Sakura. Ever hear of the punishment game?" She asked.

"A few times. That's where you keep punching each other in the arm until you flinch. Then you get punched twice for flinching." Kiba said.

"That's one of the options yes. He landed on dog crap so...that's why we're here." Sakura stated.

"Is that so?" Kiba smirked. "Well you've come to the right place. Allow me to escort you inside." He said with sarcastic curtsy.

"Gee...thanks a lot..." Naruto grumbled.

Kiba led the two of them into the compound, earning a few disgusted looks from some of the clansmen. Even after saving the Leaf from Gaara and the One Tails, he was still widely branded as a demon, even though, a lot of people had changed their tune.

"Don't mind them. They're just dogs growling." Kiba said.

"Oh, so you guys use dog puns on your own clan too?" Naruto said sarcastically.

"Hey, we don't bow to dumb jokes. We're always testing for weaknesses to exploit. That's how we determine who is the pack leader around here." Kiba said as he led them through to the kennels. Where the chicken wire playpen was absolutely filled with puppies.

"Aw! They're so adorable..." Sakura gushed. she always had a soft spot for puppies.

"You like them? Go on and pet them. They could use some affection." Kiba said.

"Can I really?" Sakura asked with sparkling eyes.

"Yup. Have at it." Kiba smiled.

Sakura squealed before hopping over the chicken wire, where all the puppies came rushing towards here and covering her with affection.

Sakura giggled as the puppies all licked her face and nuzzled her affectionately. "Ohhh...I want one so bad..."

"Where did you meet this girl? I've never seen the pups so happy." Kiba asked.

Naruto looked at Kiba with suspicion. "I met her out in Tanzuka when I was looking for the Sannin Tsunade to help my Dad. Turns out she is her apprentice."

"EH?! She's the apprentice of a Sannin?!" Kiba exclaimed, having heard the tales of the Slug Princess. "Isn't she that famous medic with the boobs so big you could lose one of these puppies in them?" Kiba gestured to the puppies playing in the pen.

"Yea, that's her." Naruto nodded.

"My cousins have told me all about her. The horny devil dogs." Kiba grumbled.

"Yea...but Sakura-chan is nothing like Tsunade. She has a temper, but she's like a complete polar opposite." Naruto praised.

 _'Sakura-chan?'_ Kiba thought. "How so?"

"It took me a whole week to get Tsunade to agree to come save my dad while Sakura-chan was willing to head here to help us right from the start without even knowing who I was or who my family was. She is kind, caring, sweet, and above all else, smart. But I learned the hard way to never piss her off." Naruto listed off as he watched Sakura from where he was standing.

Kiba looked at Naruto, who was watching Sakura with an expression he had never seen from him before. It could only mean one thing and he was smart enough to realize it. "You really like her, don't you?" He smirked.

"Well yea. She's my friend." Naruto said.

"Dude...believe it or not, but I think of you as my friend. Hell, just about our entire class thinks of you as a friend now. Even Sasuke has a newfound respect for you after the Chunin Exams." Kiba admitted.

"Oh yeah right. Thanks for the bullshit, dog breath." Naruto said.

"Hey I'm serious. Ya beat up a 100 meter tall Sand Demon and suddenly you're everyone's friend." Kiba said. "Even I gotta give credit where credit is due."

"Yeah right." Naruto scoffed.

"Fine, don't believe me you freakin' loner. But I think I'll hang and around you two today. Be funny as Hell to watch the so called Prank Prince faces these so called punishments." Kiba decided.

"Whatever floats your boat." Naruto shrugged.

"So, is "Sakura-chan" seeing anybody or what?"

"Um...I don't think so. Why?" Naruto asked.

"Well I wouldn't want to let a babe like that slip through my fingers, now would I?" Kiba smirked while Akamaru yipped in approval atop of his head.

"Hell no! She'd never go out with a jerk like you!" Naruto snapped.

Kiba smirked, sensing a challenge. "And who would she go out with? You?"

Naruto then stepped right into Kiba's face. "Maybe." He huffed.

"Is that a spine I see on you?" Kiba mocked.

"Kiss my ass, dog breath."

"Maybe if it was Sakura-chan's." Kiba smirked, right as Naruto slugged him in the teeth.

Kiba reeled back and grabbed Naruto by the collar while Naruto cocked back his fist to give the Inuzuka heir another knuckle sandwich.

"Oh my god, Kiba, this one licked my cheek. Can I keep him?" Sakura gushed obliviously as she walked up to them carrying a black and white spotted puppy in her arms. The boys pushed themselves off of one another in the hopes that Sakura didn't see them fighting.

"This little guy is so adorable...he just curled up and fell asleep on me..." Sakura said lovingly towards the puppy in her arms.

"Hey that's great. But no, I'm afraid those puppies aren't for sale. Our clan trains them up to be ninja dogs, not house pets." Kiba said.

"Aww…" Sakura pouted as she gave the mutt more kisses on the head.

"Come on, let's have Naruto fulfill his punishment. That ought to cheer you up." Kiba smiled.

"Yeah…" Sakura agreed, making Naruto grumbled. Sakura then put the puppy back in his play pen with the others. It broke her heart to see all of their adorable little paws pressed up against the chicken wire, trying to get her attention.

Kiba led Naruto out to the back of the shed where a large tub that absolutely REEKED of dog poop was waiting for them.

"Now we make a point to keep the kennels and the yards clean. Then we harvest the dog poop for fertilizer to make some extra cash on the side. But thankfully we've got a fresh batch, just for you." Kiba smirked.

"Oh no..." Naruto grumbled, making Sakura snicker.

"I did my punishment so you gotta do yours." Sakura smirked.

"And you gotta do 4 more after this." Naruto reminded her.

"Oh I know." Sakura replied.

Naruto started walking towards the tub and was instantly met with the smell. It made him gag and wretch just being near it.

"50 Ryo says he chicken's out." Kiba said to Sakura.

"100 says he'll do it." Sakura countered.

"200 says I'll stick my whole foot in it." Naruto called back.

"300 if you put both feet in." Kiba countered.

"I wanna see your money first. Both of you." Naruto said.

Sakura gently set down the sleeping puppy and pulled out her coin purse and produced 300 Ryo, Kiba doing the same.

"600 Ryo, here I come." Naruto said as he grit his teeth, held his breath, and jumped into the tub of puppy poop.

Sakura couldn't help but gag. "Oh god that's gross..."

Naruto then stomped his foot like he was crushing grapes. Just to let there be no doubt in anyone's mind.

"Pay me, bitches." He smirked.

"Here you go, poopy toes." Kiba laughed as he handed over his cash.

"H-here...urgh..." Sakura gagged as she handed Naruto her money.

Naruto smirked as he took the money and stepped out of the tub, his feet and his sandals were absolutely caked in the stuff.

"O-oh god..." Sakura turned green before taking off to a nearby bush to yak up her lunch.

"You know...if she wasn't doing it. I would be." Naruto said. "You got a hose I could use?"

"Yes, we do. By all means." Kiba coughed.

"Thanks. Where is it?"

"Behind this shed."

"Sweet." Naruto said before he went around the shed to hose his feet off.

"That kid has issues..." Kiba deadpanned before hearing Sakura hock up a wad of bile and spit.

"Yea, no kidding..."

"And what's your story? Everything I've heard about Lady Tsunade, she doesn't strike me as the type to willingly be a mother." Kiba asked.

"That's...a rather long story really." Sakura said hesitantly, remembering back to when Naruto told her not to reveal her jinchuriki status.

"Well I'm not gonna pry if it's too personal. Still though, I'd like to get to know you. Do you have family somewhere else? Are you living here from now on? Do you have a boyfriend?"

"My only family was killed by the 6 tails, probably, and no I don't."

"Whoa. Killed by the 6 Tails? I'm sorry. My family lost a lot of members to the 9 Tails 12 years ago. Along with my dad." Kiba admitted.

"I heard bits and pieces of the 9 tails attacking, but not the whole story." Sakura admitted.

"Well, what do you know about Jinchuriki's?" Kiba asked.

"Everything. Even about Naruto being one and his mother being the former Jinchuriki to the 9 tails."

"Whoa, that's not exactly a subject you talk about so casually around here." Kiba said.

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

"Because it's...a very touchy subject around here and it can set some people off." Kiba informed.

"Right, I understand." Sakura sighed.

"Yeah just...just be careful who you mention it to." Kiba said as Naruto came back around the corner.

"Alright. Next punishment." Naruto said as he clapped his hands together.

"Oh, if I must." Sakura sighed as she grabbed the board that was resting on the shed. She spun the spinner and it landed on...

"Donkey ears?" Kiba asked, growing intrigued.

"Oh, that's fine. Better than my first one." Sakura shrugged.

"What the Hell are donkey ears supposed to mean?" Kiba asked.

"I gotta wear some fake donkey ears on my head for the rest of the night." Sakura said simply.

"Well I don't have any donkey ears back home. So we'll have to go buy some." Naruto said.

"I got ya covered there. I'll meet you back at your place." Kiba offered, knowing that many shops refuse to let Naruto in.

"What? You don't have to do that." Naruto said.

"Call it, my burning desire to see this one in donkey ears." Kiba said.

"Um...okay?" Sakura said, a little weirded out.

Kiba just gave her a knowing look and Sakura realized what he was getting at.

"Ooooh...okay." Sakura nodded before handing Naruto back the board. "Since my punishment is delayed, you can take your turn now."

"Fine. Naruto said as he spun the wheel of punishment and it landed on...

"Reveal my darkest secret?" Naruto said.

"Oh my...um...you wanna say it here or wait till we get home?" Sakura asked.

"Say it when I get home, and preferably without Kiba hearing it."

"Okay." Sakura nodded.

"Well then, you two make your way back and I'll catch up. You want me to bring some others over?" Kiba asked.

"No, don't do that." Naruto said.

 _'I'm totally gonna do that.'_ Kiba thought.

"Alright, I won't do that." Kiba said.

Kiba led them out of the compound and parted ways with them for the moment to go fetch the Donkey ears.

Sakura and Naruto walked back to the Namikaze mansion in silence. Whatever Naruto's secret was, he was stewing about it in extreme concentration. They made it back inside and Naruto led her back down to the basement bar area, where he had her sit down on the bar stool while he poured them both a hard glass of cherry vanilla cola.

"This is hard for me to say, Sakura-chan. I hope you know that I'm only telling you because I absolutely trust you."

Sakura couldn't help but smile at that. Not about the secret, but about the fact that he said that he trusts her. "That means a lot to me to hear you say that..."

"No worries..." Naruto said as he took a deep breath.

"My deepest...darkest secret is..."

Sakura gulped.

"That I am the jinchuriki to the Nine Tailed Fox." He deadpanned.

Sakura sweat dropped. "That's...nothing new..."

"Well it's all I've got." Naruto said as he took a sip of his drink and Sakura could see him smirking at her.

"Oh is it now? I don't buy it. Spill, now." Sakura demanded.

"Well what did you expect to hear?"

"Oh, I don't know. Like you did something terrible that you regret, you took something and sold it for money, you have a crush on the most unexpected person in the world, you've done some questionable things, shit like that."

"Maybe some sick prank I once pulled?" Naruto suggested.

"Yea, now you get it." Sakura nodded. _'Damn...thought he'd go for it.'_

"Let's see..." Naruto thought as he swished his drink around.

"There was this one time I was in class, like maybe 3rd grade and I had to pee really bad. But the teacher wouldn't let me go. I begged him, but he wouldn't let me go. Said that I should have gone during break." Naruto began.

"Okay, go on." Sakura urged.

"So naturally I peed my pants. I wanted to get up to go to the bathroom and try to clean myself up, but the teacher caught on to this and had me stand in the middle of the class in front of everyone. Just so that I could be an 'example' to others." Naruto thought back bitterly.

"Wow, that's fucked up..." Sakura growled.

"Oh yeah. My dad actually got involved. Saying that the teacher went too far. The headmaster said that this teacher had been known to do this to other students in the past. So he got a few days suspension and a warning." Naruto took a big gulp of his drink.

"That's it?! If he has a history of this then freaking fire his ass!" Sakura exclaimed in anger. "Woow..."

"Technically he had warned me repeatedly throughout the year. That was his excuse anyway. But I got my revenge." Naruto said.

"Okay, I wanna hear this. What did you do?"

"Oh, well I had this brilliant plan in place. Real simple and elegant too. I'd set up a high pressure aerosol can of yellow paint underneath his desk. I even got my mom to help me with remote detonation jutsu. I told her that I wanted to get a leg up on practice. Anyway, so the paint can would have exploded on my command, covering the jerk teacher's crotch and make it look like he peed his pants with paint."

"That's not the end of the story though, is it?" Sakura asked.

"Oh no. See it was good, but I never settle for anything less than great with my pranks. And there is one more half to this story." Naruto smirked.

"Kirito Yakamora, one of the many bullies that used to pick on me."

"You framed him, didn't you?" Sakura asked.

"Aw, way to spoil the story." Naruto pouted.

"Sorry...I have a habit of figuring things out quick." Sakura said sheepishly.

"Well whatever, might as well fill you in on the whole back story." Naruto shrugged. "Kirito was one of those big chubby kids that bullied everyone that wouldn't act as a subordinate to him. In my class, that left only me and Sasuke-Teme to oppose him."

"Sasuke...that police guy's son, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yup. He's also an asshole, never forget that." Naruto pointed out.

"Right...anyway, continue."

"Anyway. Back in the Academy, he kept mostly to himself, even if he was always doing everything better than me and scooping up all the girls for his fan club." Naruto grumbled.

"Right, but getting back to Kirito..." Sakura said.

"Right, right, anyway, Kirito would always pick on me. Mostly because I was the Hokage's son and he thought that I thought that I was better than everyone else. So he and his cronies would beat me up. And I had to not fight back as much as possible since I didn't need any worse of a reputation. Ya know?"

"Understandable."

"Yeah, so this made them pick on me more. Until the peeing incident of course, when the teasing got even worse since he finally actually had something on me."

"So... your revenge backfired partially."

"No, my revenge didn't backfire. Just hold on, I'm getting to it." Naruto insisted.

"It just so happens, that on the night I snuck into my classroom to plant the paint bomb, I found my teacher's school rule book on his desk. And believe you me I wouldn't have skimmed through it if I didn't have to wait inside the classroom, waiting for the janitor to finish cleaning the hallway so that I could finish my own work." Naruto explained. "I found the passage about student expulsions and it gave me an evil idea."

"Ooooh...do tell." Sakura said, now sitting on the edge of her seat.

"So instead of just pulling the prank the next day and getting my revenge, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. So I bided my time and left the paint bomb under the desk. Months went by and the memory of my peed pants faded away. I just played the model student for all those months, let the other kids get in trouble and let my teacher set his sights on them. Until finally with only two months left in the semester my moment came." Naruto said deviously.

"Kirito had gotten in trouble with our teacher, probably for talking back. So the teacher was on his case that day and had Kirito come over to the front of the board. I waited until Kirito was right behind the desk with the teacher. The teacher then looked over elsewhere with his crotch facing the desk. Kirito put his hand underneath the desk for some reason. Months of patience and I triggered the paint bomb." Naruto smirked.

"Oh god! Oh god! Tell me what happened!" Sakura demanded giddily for more juicy bits

"A huge bang went off, the whole class jumped, yellow paint went everywhere below their waists, and when the two stumbled out from behind the desk they were covered in the stuff. The entire class laughed harder than when I peed my pants."

"Did Kirito get expelled?"

"No, but by the way the teacher was acting, he wanted to kill Kirito. He started manhandling Kirito after he saw the yellow paint on the boy's fingers. And the whole class backed up that they saw Kirito stick his hand underneath the desk before the bomb went off. So the teacher took Kirito right down to the Headmaster's office. I had to bite my fist to stop myself cheering." Naruto smiled at the memory. "But anyway, apparently when they got to the Headmaster's office, he saw bruise marks on Kirito's arm. So they fired the teacher and Kirito merely got held back a year since they couldn't prove he didn't pull that prank." Naruto said as he poured himself another glass. "And that's my deep dark secret. I pulled the greatest prank of the year, got my jerk teacher fired, and held my bully back a year."

"That's freaking awesome." Sakura all but laughed.

"Yup. And besides the demon that lives in my stomach. You are the only other person who knows it." Naruto said.

"Knows what?" A girl asked, making Naruto and Sakura look over to see the group of kids having entered the basement.

"W-what the..." Naruto gasped out. "Kiba! I told you not to!"

"Well I did it any-Sweet mother! Look at all of this!" Kiba exclaimed as he eyed the wonder that was a bar and arcade. It was bigger and better than the one in town.

"Woah...impressive Naruto." The blonde haired girl whistled.

"Damn man...sweet game room." The pineapple haired one agreed.

"H-h-hello, Naruto-kun..." A meek voiced brunette girl spoke.

"Wow man, is that Road Fighter V?" A chubby boy exclaimed.

"Impressive collection." The kid in a trench coat and sunglasses praised emotionlessly.

"What the Hell are you guys doing in my house? Who let you in?" Naruto asked.

"Kiba said we were invited." Ino said.

"I'm proving a point, Naruto." Kiba said firmly before turning to the group. "He has it set in his mind that we don't like him as a friend."

"What?" The blonde haired girl exclaimed, with hurt evident in her tone. "Naruto...why would you think that? That hurts our feelings for you to think that."

"Yeah Naruto. That hurts. I'm so hurt that I'm going to go mooch off your private arcade. Like a true friend would." Kiba said before entering the game room, followed by all the other guys.

"Troublesome." Sakura heard one of them mutter as they entered the game room and started playing Crazy Canoe.

"Well it's not like I've had a lot of evidence to the contrary." Naruto said as he decided to pour his remaining "guests/friends" a drink.

He then felt a soft hand on his shoulder. he turned to see the blond girl looking at him sadly. "Naruto...We know we were wrong in the way we've treated you and we want to make it up to you anyway we can...that comes from the bottom of our hearts..."

Naruto blushed at Ino's soft touch and gentle face growing nearer to hers. Undenounced to him, a certain pinkette and brunette felt their blood pressures rising.

"Oh! Sakura I almost forgot." Kiba said as he tossed her the donkey ears.

Sakura blushed as Naruto and both these new girls saw her have to put on the ridiculous looking brown donkey ears.

"Oh right! We didn't finish that yet." Naruto realized.

"Finish what?" The blonde girl asked.

"Punishment game, Ino!" Kiba called.

"Ooh, fun. What's it for?" Ino asked.

"For beating each other at Kid Pac-Man." Sakura said simply.

"I'm sorry, you are...?"

"Sakura Haruno. Just moved here today."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ino Yamanaka and this is Hinata Hyuga." Ino introduced herself and her brunette friend.

"Where did...you come from if you don't mind me asking..." Hinata asked nervously.

"Well, I've been a nomad for 13 years of my life, but originally I'm from the Hidden Star Village." Sakura informed.

"Is that so. What made you leave?" Ino asked.

"My...parents were killed by the 6 Tails..."

The two girls gasped. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Ino said.

"I was taken in by Tsunade Senju and trained by her as well. I was only a baby when it all happened."

"Lady Tsunade? That's incredible." Ino said.

"How come she took you in? that doesn't sound like something she'd do." Hinata asked with curiosity.

"Oh...um...it's because..." Sakura looked to Naruto for answers. Could she trust these other kids with a sensitive secret as hers?

"You said that she took pity on you since you were just a baby when your parents died." Naruto said.

"Really? Are you sure it isn't because you're the Jinchuriki for the 6 tails?" Ino asked, earning fearful looks from both Naruto and Sakura. "I can read minds."

"This isn't going to become public knowledge, is it?" Naruto asked Ino seriously. For he knew of her infamous reputation as a gossip queen.

"No...I can tell that this is a very serious thing that should STAY BETWEEN ALL OF US!" Ino yelled out to the others in warning. "But seriously, I may be a queen of gossip, but I know how the townsfolk will react to having a second Jinchuriki in the village."

"Thank you..." Naruto sighed in relief. "Thank you so much..."

"Eh...don't worry about it." Ino waved off. "Consider it part of our repayment to you for everything we've done."

"Consider it forgiven then." Naruto said Ino held up her cherry vanilla cola on the rocks with a lime wedge. "To new friends." She said, inviting everyone seated at the bar to join her.

"To new friends." Ino and the others present toasted.

Naruto gulped down the entire drink, and for the first time since Ino and the others had arrived, he smiled.

 _'As I looked upon the solemn young man with a guarded heart, I felt my own heart race as he projected that dazzling smile of his so rarely bestowed upon anyone else. I knew then that the gap between us, once as great as the vast ocean, had shrunken.'_ Hinata thought to herself.

"So, what's the 6 Tails like?" Ino asked.

"Actually, she's really nice. Very kind and sweet. She actually is very sorry she killed my parents. Turns out, she was only defending herself when the ninja of my village attacked her. By the way, she's a giant 6 tailed slug." Sakura explained.

"A slug? Ew..." Ino said.

"Hey, she's cool. And she gives me a lot of chakra to heal patients. Slugs are actually adept in healing abilities."

"Doesn't make them any less slimy." Ino said.

"Eh...you get used to it after a while." Sakura shrugged.

"Oh Sakura-chan..." Naruto grinned as he pushed the board in front of her.

"Ugh..." Sakura groaned before spinning the spinner. It spun around until it landed on...

"Oh god..." Sakura blushed.

"Oh...bad luck for you..." Ino sweat dropped.

"S-s-strip n-naked?" Hinata said aloud.

"Oh come on! You already saw me once, do I REALLY need to reveal myself again?!" Sakura protested without thinking.

"You did what?!" Kiba exclaimed from the game room, causing him to crash his virtual canoe into a riverside schoolhouse.

Sakura's face turned beet red. "N-no! I mean that he saw me when he walked in on me while I was taking a bath!" Sakura defended.

"Oh, that's different." Ino said.

"But still! Does it really have to be twice in one day?!" Sakura continued to protest.

"You're the one who wanted to have multiple punishments." Naruto reminded her with a smirk. "This could have ended with you jumping in my pool."

"Ugh..."Sakura groaned in protest. "Fine, but the others have to leave. Either that or we move to a different room-"

"Giggidy." Kiba smirked.

"-NO SEXUAL! Because I really don't want to show myself to everyone thank you."

"Wait, hold on a second, Forehead." Ino said.

"Forehead!?" Sakura exclaimed.

"You have a pool?" Ino asked.

"Yeah? And you don't?" Naruto asked. He thought for certain that all major clans had stuff like pools and whatever else.

"No. Most of our collective clan money goes to maintaining the essentials for all those living in the compound." Ino grumbled, having had this conversation many times with her father.

"Well it's only me and my parents who live in our compound. So I guess that leaves us some extra funds for stuff like pools and arcade machines." Naruto shrugged.

"Huh...how about that..." Hinata said.

"Well, back to me seeing Sakura-chan naked..." Naruto said.

"Maybe I'll take your eye as payment." Sakura grumbled.

Naruto gulped in fear.

"Yea, I already agreed to it so don't push your luck." Sakura growled. _'God I can't believe I'm about to do this...'_

"Anyway, back to what I was saying. How about we all leave you to your punishment and we'll go take a dip in the pool. Then you two can meet us outside." Ino said.

"You never said anything about taking a dip in my pool." Naruto said.

"Well I implied it. Do you have a changing room?" Ino asked, causing Naruto to sigh.

"Right next to the pool is a shed with showers and a boy and girl changing room. Just follow the stone pathway through the garden." Naruto said.

"Awesome, come on you guys!" Ino called to the others. The others all moved away from their games and followed Ino out to the pool, leaving Sakura and Naruto alone.

"I really can't believe this is happening again..." Sakura groaned before she worked on removing her skirt.

"Wait, hold on." Naruto said as he walked over to the couch and turned the big comfy love chair around so that he could relax while getting to watch the show.

"Okay continue." He said as he leaned back and took a sip of his drink.

"You're just milking this as much as you can, aren't you..." Sakura's eyebrow twitched.

"Yup." Naruto grinned.

 _'Dohohohooo...you're lucky I have a crush on you...'_ Sakura thought as she dropped her skirt on the floor.

Next, she worked on unzipping her shirt and then remembered. _'Shit, I didn't wear a bra…damn it.'_ She thought as Naruto got a good look at her chest right below her collar bone.

' _What's that?'_ Naruto thought as he swore that he saw familiar runes tattooed on Sakura's skin.

"Wait a second, stop." Naruto ordered, just as Sakura was ready to unzip fully just to get it over with.

 _'Oh thank god...'_ Sakura thought. "Why?"

"Those markings." Naruto pointed to Sakura's tattoo. "That's your seal keeping your tailed beast inside you, isn't it?" He said, leaning forward in interest.

"Huh?" Sakura looked down to see that most familiar seal. "Yea...it's the one Lady Tsunade used to seal Saiken in me."

"That's weird." Naruto said as he stood up and lifted up his own shirt. At first Sakura was embarrassed, but then saw what he was trying to show her, his own seal that appeared around his naval. A seal that looked remarkably similar.

"That's...the same as mine...sort of. Mine doesn't have those 5 markings."

"Woah, that's...really crazy."

"Lady Tsunade said that the second Hokage created this seal. Who placed it on you?"

"My dad. On the night of my birth..." Naruto said. The two just stood there in awe before Sakura remembered that she was standing in front of him half naked.

"Ah shoot, I should finish." She said.

"No, wait." Naruto held up his hand.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"That's good enough. I've seen enough." Naruto stated, turning his head away.

Surprisingly, Sakura was stunned at his sudden change of heart. The fact that he was so intent on her stripping earlier and now going against that made her chest warm up. He was acting like a real gentleman right now and that made her happy. Sakura sighed. _'He's so...what's the word? Chivalrous?'_

 _ **'Yea, that's the word.'**_ Saiken replied.

"Naruto..." She said softly.

"Just, put your clothes back on. Or just put a bathing suit on. You do have one, right?" Naruto asked.

"No, I don't." She said as she pulled her skirt back up.

"Did you go shopping or something?"

"When have I had time to do that? We always focused on stuff that would just cover me as we traveled. We never bothered to shop for swim wear."

"I don't know. I just thought that you did." Naruto shrugged.

"No, I never did..." Sakura admitted before zipping her top back up.

"My mom may have a spare."

"I doubt it would fit. She's taller than me."

"Yup." Naruto said as he put his glass away in the sink. "So come on, lets go ask her."

"Now hold off there, mister. You still have two more spins." Sakura smirked.

"Let's call it a break. I wanna go for a dip." Naruto said.

"Oh just spin it!" Sakura said as she spun it herself on his behalf. And it landed on...

"Jump into a pool. Can do." He smirked.

"With your clothes on." Sakura reminded. "Fine...whatever."

"Well since I already spun, you're turn." Naruto said.

"Alright." Sakura said before spinning the spinner. "Honestly I think I've done the worst one so-"

"Kiss someone of my choosing." Naruto said.

 _'Oh my god...I got the one I was hoping he'd get...dammit. He's so dim he wouldn't even think to choose himself.'_ Sakura thought sadly.

 _'Oh man. Who could I have her kiss that would be so embarrassing?'_ That giddily to himself.

 _ **'Ugh...you are such an idiot...'**_ Kurama groaned.

 _'You got something to say?'_ Naruto asked.

 _ **'This is possibly the best opportunity you get her to kiss you, and you would rather embarrass her further? Really? Are you trying to make her hate you?'**_

 _'Now why would I... wait a minute...'_

 _ **'Yes, for once in your life, think about it. This is a golden opportunity you're throwing away here.'**_

 _'Why do you even care?'_ Naruto thought.

 _ **'Fun fact. Our nervous systems are linked. In layman's terms, I feel what you feel. So I actually get something out of you experiencing pleasurable things.'**_ The Kyuubi explained.

 _'So, wait...that means...you know exactly how I feel about her?'_

' _ **That's part of it, yes. But that's not what I was talking about.'**_

 _'What are you talking about?'_ Naruto questioned.

 _ **'Oh never mind. Look. Let's just say that I'll help you avoid doing stupid things when it benefits me and neither of us has to try to be each other's friend.'**_ The Kyuubi thought.

 _'Works for me.'_ Naruto said.

 _ **'Good. Now...have her kiss you. Not someone else. You'll thank me later.'**_

 _'Gosh its taking him a long time to pick someone.'_ Sakura thought as she looked upon Naruto who had a blank and far off stare.

That's when Naruto snapped out of his stupor and looked Sakura dead in the eyes. "I want you-"

 _'Here it comes...'_ Sakura thought dreadfully.

"-to kiss-"

 _'Oh maaaan...'_

"-me..."

 _'Dang it, I knew it...I knew he was too freaking dim to-'_ "Wait, what?" Sakura asked. She wasn't quite sure she heard him right. She saw the blush on Naruto's face as he tried to keep the serious look on his face.

"I, uh...I said...I want you to kiss...me..." Naruto repeated.

Sakura's eyes slowly went wide as that warm feeling she had in her chest once before returned, this time several times stronger.

"Y-you want me to...kiss...you...?" She breathed out. _'YES!'_ She thought with unbridled joy.

"Just on the cheek." He added. Not sure if he was ready for his first kiss. Or that he'd want to force it on anyone.

"Um...okay..." Then Sakura chuckled. "You know, that was originally going to be your reward from me, but you wanted to do it this way."

"What, seriously?" Naruto asked.

"Seriously." Sakura smiled.

The little irony fairy then punched Naruto right in his jewels.

She leaned her head forward and kissed his cheek. It wasn't a quick peck, but a tender and pasting one that seemed to make the two of them want even more.

After a few moments, Sakura pulled away, but still maintained a close proximity to him. "How was it?"

"It was..." _'The most amazing kiss I've ever had in my life.'_ "Really nice. Thank you." Naruto smiled.

"Just really nice, huh?" Sakura giggled, but mentally she was kinda hurt. _'Only really nice...? It felt so much better from my end...'_

It wasn't very noticeable, but Naruto could see the tiniest bit of hurt in her eyes. Maybe she thought it was better than that, but how could he honestly tell her that?

"Um...can...I have one...?" Sakura asked shyly.

 _'Okay...so she does like me.'_ Naruto thought.

 _ **'So? You just gonna leave her hanging? Maybe get her on the forehead. Remember what she said about it?'**_

 _'No. Did she say anything?'_ Naruto thought.

 _ **'She said it was her most hated feature. She told you that back in Tanzuka.'**_

 _'Oh right. Thank God you remembered.'_ Naruto sighed.

 _ **'Don't mention it. If there's one thing I know from being in your mother, it's that you never keep a woman waiting. And right now, your Vixen is waiting for you.'**_

 _'My what?'_ Naruto asked.

"Naruto... I'm waiting..." Sakura pouted.

 _ **'You're fucking this up...'**_

"Is... everything oka-" Sakura froze when Naruto pulled her head down because she was taller than him and planted a kiss, right in the middle of her forehead

 _'H-he's...kissing my forehead...'_ Sakura thought while looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Never. Never has anyone, not even Tsunade or Shizune, done this before. She could feel fireworks going off in her body as her mind slowly started to turn into a blissful state of mush. It was a feeling unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

In that moment, she had snaked her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. She wanted this moment to last as long as possible and she wanted to make sure that he wasn't going anywhere.

 _'Saiken...I'm falling for him hard now...'_ Sakura thought happily.

 _ **'So, I take it you're not going to wait a month then?'**_

 _'I don't know...it's...wow...'_

Saiken just smiled. _**'Then go get him my dear.'**_

Before Sakura could do anything, they heard a tapping on the glass and looked over to see Ino in a purple bathing suit waving at them.

Naruto pulled away, but remained in Sakura's grip. She didn't want to let go.

"I think they're waiting for us." Naruto said softly.

"Let them wait...just...do that again..." Sakura demanded softly, giving him a look that he couldn't possibly refuse.

"Y-you...like it that much?"

"I'm not going to lie...it was the best experience in my life..."

"R-really?" Naruto asked.

Sakura stood up and gave him one more peck on the cheek. "Really." She smiled before running out the door and urging Naruto to follow her to the pool.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the hospital...

Minato was just watching some TV in his hospital bed, just getting through this night he had to sit through. He didn't see why he had to stay, but for the sake of keeping Tsunade even tempered he decided to suck it up and stay one more night. Especially since Tsunade and Shizune were getting started on Kushina's first physical therapy session. That's when he heard a tapping coming from his door.

"Enter." He said, wondering who could be visiting him in his sick bed. _'Nothing good.'_ He imagined.

The door flung open to see a noticeably irate Fugaku Uchiha.

"Hello Chief Uchiha." Minato spoke.

"You and I need to talk." He spoke with utmost authority.

"I don't suppose it could wait for me to return to my office the day after tomorrow? Once I've fully recovered and spent some time with my family. I have just woken up from I believe a 2 month coma." Minato said as he put away his book.

"I just received a complaint from the owner of Sport Track Shinobi footwear that Naruto entered her store illegally with a girl with pink hair. Saying that they refused to leave when asked, verbally threatening her and destroyed a few shelves of her merchandise."

Minato raised a quizzical eyebrow. "First off, it's not illegal for my son to enter a shop. Second, I highly doubt that he or Sakura would do anything of what you just said."

"Oh, so you know the second perpetrator as well?"

"She just arrived here today and doesn't know of our ways. She has been traveling with Lady Tsunade for the last 13 years and she is her student."

"Is that so? A shame that she has quickly associated with such riff raff. Perhaps she shall change her ways and become a promising shinobi for the village." Fugaku stated.

"That's my son you're talking about." Minato growled. "And if Tsunade's report of her work is anything to go by, she's more of a shinobi than almost half of the Uchiha clan."

Fugaku popped a vein on his forehead.

"Plus, it wouldn't surprise me of my son ends up dating this girl. They seem to be quite smitten with one another and I bet you by the end of the week, they'll be dating. So, that being said, I would advise you to leave those two alone if you value your job." Minato said sternly.

"I do not care for any low born girl, no matter who trained her, especially when it comes to dating my son." Fugaku snapped. "And you know very well that you have no authority to remove me from my position. This is not why I came here today."

"Then why did you come here, Fugaku? Because all I've seen you do is threaten me and my family with bogus charges that would get thrown out of court the second a judge laid their eyes on it. So I ask again, why are you really here?" Minato snapped. Fugaku then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a file folded in half and threw it on Minato's lap.

"And what is this?" Minato asked.

"Your forced resignation. Had you been in that coma of yours a day longer, the twin councils would have voted to remove you from power and instilled a new Hokage to take your place. Something we should have done the day of your coma in my mind, but no matter." Fugaku said as Minato thumbed through the papers, seeing the same registration form signed by the same council members over and over again, each one having more names than the last. On the list from the Clan council he saw Hirashi Hyuga, Shibi Aburame, Choza Akimichi, and...

"The new head of the Sarutobi clan signed this?" Minato said allowed in horror. The Sarutobis were his closest allies being the clan of the late 3rd Hokage.

"You're running out of friends, my Lord." Fugaku sneered. "Soon we won't need you to be in a coma to come to a consensus that you are unfit for command of the greatest shinobi village in the world."

Minato held back his rage. The cheek on this man, it was infuriating.

"And then what? You'll put an Uchiha in the Hokage office? And who might that be? You?" Minato snapped.

"Whoever is most fitting for the task. I just thought I'd give you some friendly advice. Soon everyone in the entire village will know the greatness of the Uchiha house and acknowledge it. I just prefer that you knew it first." Fugaku sneered.

"Not everyone, Fugaku." Minato bit back as one of the youngest ANBU opened the door for the Police Chief.

"Itachi, please show Police Chief Uchiha to the front entrance of the hospital." Minato smugly requested.

"As you wish, my Lord." Itachi replied.

"Chhh..." Fugaku grit his teeth, but didn't give either men the satisfaction of refusing their offer. Itachi then silently led him to the hospital entrance and Minato breathed a sigh of contempt.

 _'I'm more than certain he forged that document. I have known those clan heads since we were in the academy. There is no way they would turn against me.'_ He clenched his fist and anger. _'I would have Itachi or Kakashi in office before him...'_

A moment later, Itachi appeared back by the Hokage's bedside.

"It is done, my Lord." Itachi reported.

"Thank you weasel. Sorry for using you like that." Minato sighed as he leaned back in bed.

"It's okay, my Lord. My father is the kind of man who needs a reminder every now and again of who is in charge." Weasel said.

"Yes, but for how long will I remain in charge?" Minato thought aloud as he threw the files onto a nearby night stand, out of his sight.

"Unfortunately, my lord...that document is legit. I checked it myself...I'm very sorry my lord."

"Damn it..." Minato cursed.

"We can send agents to the clan compounds to investigate their standing alliances now that you have awoken from your coma. I'm certain that many of them only voted because they lost hope that you would awaken in a timely manner and need a strong leadership head in place for the next village emergency." Weasel counseled.

"You can, but I'm afraid that there would be no change...so, I need to start looking for a successor."

"Sir, you don't mean..."

"I do. I've put in 13 years of my life into this job. Hoping to make a real difference outside of the battlefield. I've been met with nothing but bureaucracy and gridlocked politicians all trying to get the biggest piece of the pie." Minato grumbled. "It's wore me down and I'm exhausted..."

"Sir please, don't let any untrusting ears hear you say that." Weasel warned.

"Oh let them find out that they broke me. Let them feel satisfied about themselves. I've still got my family and enough accumulated wealth to laugh right with them when I retire. Until then they are stuck with me." Minato grumbled.

Minato sighed. "I have two possible candidates to take my position; Kakashi, and you."

"Sir?" Weasel said, a little shocked.

"I'd have preferred it to be my son, but I guess that makes me no better than Fugaku, huh?" Minato chuckled.

"No sir, all your decisions are in the best interest of the village, not just your own blood." Weasel protested.

"I wonder about that sometimes..." Minato mused. "Anyway, this still won't happen for at least three more years. I might even add Tsunade or Jiraiya to the roster of candidates by then. So don't worry about it." Minato said.

"I feel that you should know that you will always have myself and the ANBU by your side, even after you retire."

"I appreciate that, but you all will serve the village and the bearer of the Hokage mantel first and foremost. Remember that."

"Of course, My Lord." Itachi nodded.

* * *

Back at the Namikaze estate...

"So, do you understand your options?" Tsunade asked Kushina.

"I do and I agree with my husband on the physical training." Kushina said.

"I figured you would and honestly, that makes things easier on all of us." Tsunade smiled.

Matilda soon joined them with a tray of tea. "I got something to share, Lady Kushina. Something I think will bring you and Lady Tsunade great joy." She smiled.

"And what is that?" Tsunade asked politely.

"I went downstairs to check on the children and saw Naruto and Sakura holding each other and kissing." She beamed.

"Well shoot. That sounds like a reason to toast. Do you have any sake?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, but I think wine is better for this occasion." Kushina smiled. "Matilda, can you run downstairs and fetch a bottle of the 41?"

"Of course, M'Lady." Matilda bowed before heading downstairs.

"Well hold on a second. How were they kissing?" Shizune asked.

"Sakura kissed Naruto on the cheek first and then he kissed her on the forehead. But they looked sooo in love..." Matilda gushed.

"Ooohhhh...my baby is growing up so fast..." Kushina gushed.

"Oh my god, that's so adorable." Shizune squealed.

"Matilda, be sure to bring over four glasses." Kushina ordered.

"Oh I don't think that would be appropriate, Ma'am. I am your servant after all." Matilda said, just in case Tsunade was one of those stuffy types that didn't approve of workers drinking with their employers, but Kushina would have none of it.

"Nonsense, you're my friend Matilda, just as much as you are my employee. Just because I pay you doesn't diminish our friendship." Kushina said.

"Enhances it, really." Matilda shrugged.

"There you go. Now chop, chop, please."

"Of course, M'Lady." Matilda smiled before leaving for the basement.

"You've got a very nice servant there." Tsunade said. "Wish the ones I had growing up were so nice."

"All of my servants are really." Kushina smiled. "Minato made sure of that."

Just then, Matilda returned almost as soon as she left. "You have a visitor, M'Lady." She said before a masked man with silver hair walked into the room.

"Well if it isn't little Kakashi! Come on in!" Kushina beamed.

"Lady Kushina. I'm 30 years old, can you please stop referring to me as 'Little Kakashi...'" Kakashi grumbled.

"Nope." Kushina grinned.

"Shall I fetch a 5th glass, M'Lady?" Matilda asked.

"Yes please." Kushina said.

"Actually that won't be necessary, my Lady. I'm not staying long." Kakashi said.

"Oh nonsense. You know you're more than welcome here anytime you wish. Besides, it's a special occasion."

"What occasion is that, my Lady?"

"A couple of reasons. Minato has awoken from his coma, thanks to Lady Tsunade." She said firstly.

"I heard, it's part of the reason I am here." Kakashi admitted.

"Well save it for a moment, because the other reason is that...my little boy has fallen in love with Tsunade's student." She gushed.

"Is that so? Little Naruto has fallen in love? This _is_ cause for celebration." Kakashi said. "And I assume you approve, my Lady?" He asked Tsunade.

"Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way honestly." Tsunade smiled.

"Very good, but the reason I am here is for Naruto. The last of my three pupils has returned and I was hoping to get some team training scheduled before our next mission." Kakashi admitted.

"Of course, but it will have to wait a few days. Minato comes home tomorrow and he just got back today. Plus he's entertaining friends right now."

That threw Kakashi for a loop. "Friends? With all due respect, my Lady. But Naruto doesn't have any friends."

"Oh, is that so? How about you look to the pool." Kushina smirked.

Kakashi stood up to go look out the pool and realized that there were now 7 other children enjoying the pool with Naruto. Most of them were the heirs to major clans and only one of them Kakashi didn't recognize with pink hair. They were splashing and swimming and laughing.

"Well I'll be damned..." Kakashi breathed out in awe.

"Told you." Kushina sang.

"Well I'll still have to politely decline that drink. I've got a date tonight." Kakashi said.

"Oh really?" Kushina smirked. "Little Kakashi has a date, does he?" She teased.

"I do. Thank you very much. I don't just spend all my time reading Lord Jiraiya's books." Kakashi defended.

"Ho boy..." Tsunade sighed.

"Anyone I know?" Kushina asked.

"If you must know. It's Anko." Kakashi said.

Kushina laughed. "That sadist? Good luck."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kakashi asked.

"You deserve a classy woman. Someone who will keep you in line, someone who would always be there for you..." Kushina said.

"Someone like Shizune?" Tsunade smirked.

"L-Lady Tsunade!" Shizune protested, her face almost as red as Kushina's hair.

"Oh don't give me that. You're 33 and still single. Hell, I'm willing to bet you're still a virgin." Tsunade scoffed.

"Only because the only men I've gotten to hang around with the past few years have been nothing but creeps and losers because that's the only men you hang around with!" Shizune released in one breath before gasping at what she had said. Years, nearly decades of living as Tsunade's ward were finally being let out into the daylight.

"Woah." Kushina said.

Under any circumstance, Tsunade would put her ward in her place...if it wasn't for the fact that it was true.

"Wow Shizune. I've never heard you speak to me that way before." Tsunade said. "Where is that wine? We need to toast my ward growing a spine." Tsunade requested.

"Right here." Matilda said as she returned with a dark colored bottle and 4 glasses.

"Thank you, Matilda." Kushina said as she graciously accepted her glass.

"Oh. You didn't say it was a 41." Kakashi said.

"Well you said you weren't going to have any on account of your hot date." Kushina smirked.

"Yea, yea..." Kakashi grumbled.

"Matilda, could you find another glass for Kakashi. A small one."

"Right here." Matilda said as she pulled out a shot glass from her pocket.

"Odd that you had that in your pocket." Kakashi said.

"I've been doing this job for a long time." Matilda answered as she started pouring everyone a glass. Once the glasses were full of fine wine, Matilda passed them around.

"A toast. To the next generation. May they bring peace to our nations." Kushina said.

"A toast to change." Tsunade added as they all clinked their glasses.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note from Panda: Woah Momma, 2 chapters and over 100 followers and favorites in about 2 weeks. That is incredible to us.**

 **Sorry about the long gap between updates. When he noticed how popular this story had become we had to rewrite this chapter to better fit the new narrative. And after that we had another story idea that we just had to work on which we hope to post soon.**

 **Anyway, thank you all for reviewing, following, favoriting, and being patient. Here is your reward.**

* * *

Five days since Sakura arrived at the Village Hidden in the Leaves…

 **knock knock**

"Enter." Minato said as he sat at his desk in the Hokage office. Probably the last year he will have sitting in that office.

The door opened to reveal Sakura and Tsunade.

"You...said you wanted to see me?" Sakura asked meekly.

"Ah, Sakura. Yes, please come in." Minato greeted with a smile.

Sakura and Tsunade entered the office, closing the door behind them. Minato pointed to a pair of chairs that were placed in front of his desk. They walked over and sat across from him.

"A few days ago, I met with both the Shinobi council and Civilian council. It didn't take much to get the Shinobi council to agree to let you in, even with the knowledge of you being a Jinchuriki. The Civilian council was a lot harder to convince, but thanks to Tsunade's testimony, they agreed to let you live in the village as a citizen and are allowed to apply for a position amongst the Shinobi ranks."

"Awesome." Sakura smiled.

"However. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any opening in Genin squads to put you with shinobi in your age group. I'm afraid for the time being I'll have to place you in our reserves division and have you work side by side with Lady Tsunade and Shizune at the hospital." Minato said.

"Oh...well, that's okay for now I suppose." Sakura said in dejection.

"There is a silver lining though." Minato said as he pulled out a squad file with the designation: Team 7, on the cover. "One of the recently promoted Chunin in this year's rookie batch filed for transfer to a higher ranking Chunin squad. It being his right to do so." Minato pulled out a photo with the ninja's personal information:

Sasuke Uchiha

Age: 13

Rank: Chunin

Etc...

He had dark hair that was spiky and sticking up in the back like a duck's behind with a mature and serious kind of face that made him look handsome and emotionless.

"Once he leaves in a month or two after the paperwork has gone though, there will be an opening in his squad." Minato said as he pulled out two more ninja information pages.

Ami Umi

Age: 13

Rank: Genin

Etc...

A purple haired girl with an asymmetrical hair design and brown eyes that didn't strike Sakura as all that friendly.

And finally, a face that made Sakura wanna leap for joy.

Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze

Age: 12

Rank: Genin

Etc…

"I get to be on Naruto-kun's team!?" She squealed.

"Not officially for a month or two. But I can request that Kakashi take on another student to let you get a feel for the team before you join. Do some training together, go on some missions..." Minato said as Sakura seemed to being crushing the file in a death hug. "But I need to advise you of something. If, or when you two decide to start dating, your primary focus must be on the mission at hand and keep any 'lovey dovey' emotions or actions to a bare minimum. I say this to all squads that have both male and female teammates."

"Yes, yes, I promise. We will be completely professional." Sakura swore.

"Good to hear. I gave Naruto the same talk and he understands...I think."

 **flashback**

"Who would I start dating, dad?" Naruto looked confused at his father who tried his very best to keep a straight face.

 _'We dropped him on his head.'_ Minato thought. _'We did it so many times that I blocked it out. That's gotta be it.'_

 **flash forward**

"Yup."

"Well, okay then." Sakura smiled.

"Speaking of that...how is that coming along if you don't mind me asking?" Minato smiled.

"Well...I was gonna talk to him about it later today, but he's on a mission. Or so I've heard." Sakura sighed.

"Oh yes...B rank to another village. He should be back in a few days."

"Can you tell me what his mission is or is that top secret?" Sakura asked.

"I can't tell you the specifics because you're not a Shinobi yet." Minato stated.

"But, what is he doing?" Sakura pressed.

"A B-Rank is generally an escort or aid mission to another village. Risk is moderate generally. That's all you need to know." Tsunade stated.

"But, which village did he-"

"Sakura, that's enough." Tsunade silenced.

"Aah...alright..." Sakura pouted.

"If you would like to know, they went to the Hidden Rain Village. And, if I'm not mistaken, it's actually near your home village; The Hidden Star Village. Or...what's left of it anyway." Minato said.

"It's okay. As cold as it may sound, I was only a baby when it happened. It's just the name of a place."

"But it's still where you were born." Tsunade reminded her. "What happened to Star?"

Minato sighed heavily as he pulled out the file in regards to the Hidden Star. "Let's see...About 2 years ago, it met an unfortunate end to a gang of rogue S-Class ninja. They all but demolished the place. We sent help, but there was only so much we could do."

"Oh my...do you know who exactly were the rogue ninja?" Tsunade asked.

"Sadly, no...but we think Sound had something to do with it." Minato stated.

Then Minato found another part of the file that made his eyes go wide. "Oh...I didn't see this beforehand..."

"What?" Sakura asked, growing worried.

"Oh boy..." Minato sighed. "Sakura...it turns out, you did have more family in Star. Grandparents and an aunt and uncle. But according to my reports, they were killed during the raid 2 years ago."

"Oh..." Sakura said. "Well that's..." She said, not sure what to make of that information. Was she supposed to be sad about people she had never met? Was she insensitive to not be feeling anything?

"So...even if Lady Tsunade didn't take you in and seal the 6 tails inside of you, there is a strong chance that you would have perished in the raid as well. So, Lady Tsunade adopting you actually saved you."

"Well I was already grateful for her taking me in and raising me." Sakura said.

"Right." Minato nodded before closing the file folder and putting it back in his desk. "So, here's another thing. I learned that it could be several months before you can find a place of your own. we currently have no vacant apartments available and we don't know when one will be available. But you are more than welcome to stay in my home as long as you wish. I'm certain that will make Naruto very happy."

 _'This is a dream come true. Never mind the cute boy we get to live with. We get to keep living in a mansion.'_ Sakura thought.

"That's generous of you, but I must decline." Tsunade stated.

 _'WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT!?'_ Sakura exclaimed. What was Tsunade doing? Didn't she know this was Sakura dream she was turning down? To live in a mansion with all of her family and a cute, sweet hearted boy. How could she do this to her?

"Any reason why?" Minato asked.

"I'm really not one to live in the lap of luxury. It's just not my thing." Tsunade waved off.

"I see...I can see about putting you up in a hotel until an apartment is available." Minato offered.

"That'll be fine." Tsunade nodded before hearing a sniff from Sakura. She turned around to see that she was almost on the verge of tears and smirked. "However, if Sakura wants, she can take you up on your offer."

Sakura looked up to her master with hope in her eyes. "R-r-really...?"

"Yes really. I don't want to pull you two lovebirds apart." Tsunade said simply.

Sakura pounced her master in a big hug. "Thank you!" She cried. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Not a problem, Sakura. Just don't forget about me and Shizune and be sure to visit us every once in a while." Tsunade smiled.

"Yes of course I will!" Sakura smiled.

"Good. Cause eventually you will move back in with us until you are of age to do so. I don't wanna hear any whining then."

Sakura sniffed. "Yes mom...I promise..."

"Wow, you haven't called me that in a while." Tsunade smiled.

"Well you're totally acting like one. Not letting me live with a boy."

"What parent wouldn't? Adoptive or not? When you're 16, you can do whatever you want."

"And our home will always be open for you." Minato smiled.

"Could...I at least be allowed to stay over on weekends?" Sakura asked.

"Hmmmm...I dunno...what do you think Minato?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm not sure I can trust my son if he's having a pretty girl over at his house on the weekends." Minato teased.

"Ah, yes. you do have a point there." Tsunade played along.

"I-I wouldn't let him do something like that! And he would never-"

"You know, I did hear about your punishment game in detail." Tsunade smirked.

Sakura just blushed very hard.

"Hmm...well...I think so long as you keep a clean Shinobi record and work well at the hospital, I don't have a problem with it. Just keep your interactions at a PG level. Understood?"

"Yes, that means none of that punishment game. In fact, I'm going to hide that game since it's technically an adult game. Why I let the Daimyo's kids bring that I'll never know. It also means that neither one of you are to be in each other's rooms alone and that when using the bathroom, you LOCK your door." Minato lectured.

"And that also goes during the time you're living there until an apartment becomes available." Tsunade said motherly.

"And please don't stand naked in front of Naruto." Minato added.

"Yea, that was covered with the Punishment game." Tsunade reminded.

"Well I'm saying in general."

"Right."

"And don't have him stand naked in front of you." Tsunade added. "Don't be playing 'doctor' with him."

"Yes, exactly. Is that understood?" Minato asked in a very father like tone.

Sakura's face was so red, you couldn't tell if her skin was part of her shirt or not. "Y-yes...I understand..."

"Good. But, if I hear anything about you going against what we agreed upon, you will not be spending another night in the same house as Naruto until you two are at the proper age. Is that understood?" Tsunade said firmly.

"And I will be telling Naruto the same thing as well." Minato added sternly.

"R-right...I understand..." Sakura said nervously.

"Remember, a Shinobi is only as good as his word. If you go back on your word, then who would trust you on a battlefield?" Minato lectured.

Sakura steeled herself with a newfound sense of duty. "Then I promise on my life to never go back on my word."

Both Minato and Tsunade smiled at that. "And that attitude right there, is the start of being a great Shinobi." Minato said.

Sakura smiled brightly at the praise. "Thank you, sir."

"Now then. Your employment at the hospital is going to be a little bit delayed as it's currently overstaffed. Tsunade can attest to that."

"Yes, and I'm currently weeding out those I don't need by separating those who are willing to change vs those who aren't. I expect positions to be available in about...2 or 3 weeks." Tsunade confirmed.

"Okay, good to know." Minato said. "If you are looking for immediate employment, I know that the Yamanaka Flower shop is looking for help and the weapon shop could use a strong hand in the warehouse." Minato stated. "At least until I can get you trained as a reserve Shinobi."

"Yamanaka? Is Ino there?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, she typically runs the shop for her mother, but they act as a mother/daughter duo. But I spoke with Inoichi Yamanaka and he said that due to his wife being pregnant-"

"Wait, how far along?" Tsunade interrupted, now in full medic mode.

"Uh...about 6 months." Minato said.

"Alright, have her come see me at her leisure. She may need to be on maternity leave."

"Inoichi is already talking about putting her on Maternity leave, but I'll be sure to do just that." Minato agreed. "Anyway, due to Ino's mother being pregnant, work is piling up and they need help badly."

"How badly?" Sakura asked.

"Bad enough that I had been putting Genin teams on D rank missions to their shop to help them. Almost daily now."

"Geez...that is pretty bad." Tsunade said in awe.

"Yes. Mind you, they are very particular on who they bring in, however it was Ino herself who requested you specifically to help them out and her parents agreed." Minato said to Sakura.

"Well so long as I'm being paid I'll be glad to help." Sakura said.

"They can't afford to pay you much, probably about 800 Ryo a week. That doesn't go far if you were living on your own, but at least you get to meet new people and you would be helping them greatly."

"Money is money." Sakura shrugged.

"Alright. If you can start today then that would be a big help."

"I'm on it." Sakura said.

"Alright. With all of that said, you are dismissed. See you for dinner."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage." Sakura bowed.

* * *

10 minutes later, at the Yamanaka flower shop.

"Ino! I need you to move these pots!" Ino's mother called out.

"One minute. I'm still sorting out these wilted flowers." Ino called back.

"I need these taken care of ASAP! I have about 50 orders that need to go out by the end of the day!"

"Oh my god...this is nuts..." Ino sighed.

"Geez, you really do need help." Came a voice behind her that sounded like an absolute godsend to her.

"Sakura?! Oh thank the sage...my mom is in the back, go see her and she'll get you started." Ino sighed in relief.

"On it." Sakura said as she rushed into the back. Sakura walked into the back room to see a middle-aged woman with black hair with a very swollen belly.

"Mrs. Yamamaka." Sakura greeted.

Said woman turned around and almost cried. "You must be Sakura, right? Thank you so much for coming dear. You have no idea how badly we need your help..."

"I can imagine. Just tell me what to do." Sakura said.

"Alright, first things first. Those stacks of pots I need potting soil put in each of them and petunias planted in each one. Do that and I will instruct you further."

"On it." Sakura said as she got right to work.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few days run from the Leaf village.

Team 7 was working a protection detail, escorting one of the minor Lords of the Land of Fire and his family on a trade mission to the Hidden Rain Village.

"How much further do we have?" Ami asked.

"I'd say another 4 hours before we reach the village." Kakashi replied.

"Hmm..." Sasuke said, as always adding his valuable insight.

"And so you've always got to have the strongest Kage cards to win at Duel Ninjas. Like the Kazekage for desert battles and Raikages for hilly battles. You also want to fill your deck with ninjas from the same village to get the +20% moral boost cause if you have a Mist ninja fighting alongside a Tsuchikage well that's just asking for trouble. You know?" Lord Isono's son Isobo was explaining to Naruto.

"Oh I know..." Naruto said in a bored tone as he walked next to the Lord's carriage with the window open so that Isobo could explain in great detail about the strategy he had discovered from playing Duel Ninjas, the hottest new card game for kids, for about two months.

"Of course you do. You can still fight with say a Kazekage and some Leaf ninjas, but they won't have the same effect. Although Cloud ninjas aren't as effected by the Land of Earth's status effects as the other shinobi. But whatever you do, don't send out Mist Ninjas onto a desert battlefield. They will get obliterated. That's how I beat my servants. I give them a Mist deck and when I use my desert battlefield, even without pairing it with a Kazekage and Sand ninjas, I can still trounce them..." Isobo blathered on.

 _ **'God, does this kid ever shut up?'**_ Kyuubi groaned.

 _'No...no he does not...'_ Naruto thought miserably.

 _'I can't take another 4 hours of this kids stupid card game...'_ Ami thought.

 _'I so wanna kill this kid...'_ Sasuke thought.

Kakashi paused when he sensed someone approaching the carriage.

 _'Oh thank the Sage.'_ He thought as he shut his book just as an arrow came whizzing out of the forest and embedded itself right on the frame of the carriage window, right by Naruto's face.

 _'Oh thank God!'_ Naruto thought as he slammed the window shut. "I'M GONNA HAVE TO CALL YOU BACK!" He shouted at the family as he readied himself for an-

"AMBUSH!" Kakashi yelled to alert his team. The two Genin and the one Chunin took a defensive position around the carriage.

"Sasuke. Can you spot anything?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and quickly scanned the forest. Nothing he could notice except for some trees, a few geckos, and- _'There!'_

"A bunch of thugs. Axes, clubs, and 2 bows and arrows! 3 o clock!" Sasuke reported.

"Alright, Ami, on me. You boys protect the carriage." Kakashi ordered as he took off into the trees.

"Sasuke. You still have that thing I gave you?" Naruto asked, still maintaining a defensive position.

"What thing? That frivolous kunai?"

Naruto nodded. "Keep that close in case we get separated."

"Don't give me orders, Namikaze. Just make a wall of your Shadow Clones and wait for Kakashi to finish off the thugs." Sasuke ordered.

"It wasn't an order." Naruto said simply before creating a wall of Shadow clones. "It was a suggestion."

"I don't need your suggestions for a gang of dirt stains. Whatever illusions you had about us being equals must surely be gone now. Genin." Sasuke said as he kept his Sharingan fixated on Kakashi wiping out thug after thug while Ami dealt with one.

"Oh, I'm so gonna miss this when you're gone. Please stay on the team." Naruto fake pouted.

"The further I'm away from you the better." Sasuke spat.

"On that, we can agree on." Naruto grumbled as he heard something and moved his head out of the way at the last second to dodge an incoming arrow.

"Which way did that come from?" Naruto asked.

"The opposite from which it's pointing." Sasuke pointed out, his finger tracing from Naruto back into the forest, the opposite direction of which Kakashi and Ami had headed.

"Is it just one or is there more?"

"Just one."

"You know, whenever you feel like being a team player, I'll be ready for you." Naruto snapped. Naruto nudged a couple of his clones to go take out the archer, to which they took off and Naruto created two more to take their place.

"The day I want to be on the same team with you again will be the day I give up my dreams." Sasuke spat.

"Besides being a stuck up prick with a pole stuck up your ass? Because you're living up to that dream quite well."

"Shut up, Dobe." Sasuke said.

"Yes, sir." Naruto saluted with his middle finger.

 _'Grrr, smartass.'_ Sasuke thought as he didn't dignify Naruto's provocation.

"Sasuke-kun! Are you hurt?!" Ami called out as she came rushing back out of the woods. Followed behind by Kakashi carrying two heavy thugs on his back.

 _'And then there's the fangirl...another I will be glad to be rid of.'_ Sasuke thought. "No, not that it's any concern of yours."

"Aw, you're always such a kidder, Sasuke." Ami laughed as all the men in her squad sighed. One day she would take the hint.

"Anybody hurt?" Kakashi asked.

"No one is injured." Sasuke reported.

"I sent a couple of clones to deal with an archer off in that direction." Naruto reported as one of his clones emerged with a wounded archer.

"What about our precious escorts. Lord Isono! Is your family okay?" Kakashi asked.

"We're good!" The Lord's son called back.

"Perfect. You okay, carriage driver?" Kakashi asked the gruff old man who sat a top of the carriage.

"Mmmm..." The old man muttered.

"I take that as a yes." Kakashi sighed before addressing his team. "That was perfectly executed. Absolutely flawless, good communication, smooth execution and nobody got hurt. You three have learned a great deal in such a short amount of time. I doubt that other Genin teams in your age group have excelled as well as you three have. I'm proud of all of you."

To hear such praise from their sensei was completely inspiring to them all. Even Sasuke couldn't help but crack an arrogant smile.

"You really mean it?" Ami asked.

"Yup." Kakashi said with his trademark eye-smile. "Now let's continue-"

He stopped himself when he saw something horrible, to which his other teammates caught onto as well. An arrow from seemingly out of nowhere and protruded from the carriage wall, just grazing Ami's cheek and drawing blood.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi called out.

"Right!" Sasuke responded before activating his Sharingan and spotted the archer almost immediately. "There!" He pointed to the direction of where the arrow came from.

Naruto then threw his three-pronged kunai in that same direction. The archer paused when he heard a kunai landing with a thump again the tree trunk where he was perched and the next thing he knew a blond kid in an orange jacket appeared in front of him and punched him square in the face.

"Target down." Sasuke reported.

"Oh Sasuke-kun! You saved me!" Ami exclaimed as she jumped onto him for a hug.

"Technically, Naruto did." Kakashi pointed out as soon as Naruto returned with the unconscious archer. But Ami wouldn't hear any of it and kept clinging to Sasuke. As far as she was concerned. Whatever role Sasuke had in saving her was the biggest role.

"You can let go now..." Sasuke grumbled.

"Oh...right..." Ami said sheepishly. _'Damn it, that was so close to being a new record for how long I held him.'_ Ami cursed in her head.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Sasuke asked.

"Because we're soul mates Sasuke-kun." Ami giggled. "Even if you don't realize it yet. I can feel it in my heart."

"No we're not. The sooner you realize that the better." Sasuke spat. "Let me make something perfectly clear to you. I. Do. Not. Like. You."

"Oh Sasuke-kun, you're such a kidder." Ami giggled. Sasuke just groaned, there was no arguing with her. The sooner he left this team of losers and fan girls the better.

"Is that all of them, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke did one last quick scan of the area and found no more baddies.

"All clear." Sasuke reported.

"Very good." Kakashi said as he knocked on the side of the carriage. "All clear!"

The boy in the carriage opened the window back up and Naruto groaned mentally when he saw him with that damn deck of cards in his hand.

"Did you kill them?" He asked gleefully.

"We captured them." Kakashi stated.

"Aww, I wanted to watch you kill them." Isobo pouted.

"Isobo, sit down!" His mother shouted at him

 _'The sooner this mission is over the better.'_ Team 7 all collectively thought.

* * *

Back in the Leaf. In the deepest...darkest... darkest dungeon. An old ally of Team 7's was being interrogated.

Kabuto hadn't seen daylight since his capture by Tsunade and her allies. Ever since he had been undergoing the worst possible nightmares imaginable to the agents of the T&I department.

The steel doors to his cell swung open and two agents in black trench coats stepped in. One of them carrying a bucket of ice cold water.

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bake-y!" He shouted before dousing Kabuto with the icy bucket that smelled.

Kabuto coughed and hacked after being nearly drowned by the sudden splash of ice cold water.

"Except...oops, I'm sorry Kab-y, we don't have any eggs and bake-y for you." The interrogation officer said as he flipped over his ice bucket, slammed in on the ground with a loud bang, and sat down on it while his supervisor stood in the corner behind him.

"I'm sorry that we got your hopes up, Kab-y. Truly I am." The man smirked.

"Kiss my ass you Leaf prick..." Kabuto spat.

"Whoa, whoa, rude!" The T&I officer said with a hand over his heart. "And after I promised you eggs and bake-y."

"Yes, keep up with the false bravado...I will piss on your body after Lord Orochimaru kills you." Kabuto spat with an arrogant smirk.

"Kind of like I did when I threw that bucket of your own cold piss on you?" The officer asked innocently.

"Alright, let's move this along." The other man started. "Kabuto, you can make this so much easier on yourself if you just cooperate."

"Fuck you..." Kabuto cursed as he tried to shake off the piss that had already seeped into his clothes.

"Oh don't be like that, Kab-y." The younger officer said before snapping his fingers. "I know what'll cheer you up. A special guest has come to visit you. He's an important guy too, real sophisticated. He'll appreciate your attire of shit stained rags covered in piss." The officer smiled as a tall figure stepped inside from behind him. A blond man with spiky hair wearing a Jounin vest with a white trench coat with red flames sewn on the bottoms.

"So...the slug bitch saved you after all..." Kabuto spat.

"She did. And she spared your life when she decided to bring you to us as a prisoner, rather than a head we could send back to Orochimaru." Minato said as the senior officer brought him a chair to sit on. A nicer and taller chair than the one Kabuto was sitting in.

"What do you want." Kabuto spat.

"Everything you know about Orochimaru and his operations. The location of his bases, the strength of his soldiers, any experiments he is working on, what his favorite breakfast cereal is, and anything else that comes to mind." Minato said straight up.

"No." Kabuto said simply.

"You sure you don't want to cut a deal with us? We could get you reduced jail time, add a few luxuries to your cell, let you take a bath that wasn't made up of your own urine with ice." Minato offered.

"I would sooner die...you think you have me backed into a corner? I've lived through far worse than your pitiful excuse of interrogators have put me through thus far. You won't get me to crack...you will never find out the secrets I know." Kabuto grinned a sinister grin. "The Leaf village will soon fall to its knees. One way or another, everyone in the Leaf shall perish...including your two Jinchuriki."

"Wait a minute, two?" The younger man asked.

"Oh, so you don't know? The Leaf recently took in a pink haired girl who Tsunade trained. She is the 6 tails Jinchuriki and has unimaginable power. And you thought you only had to worry about the 9 tails..." Kabuto sneered.

The young man turned to his leader. "Lord Hokage...is this true?"

"It is...however, unlike Naruto, she cooperates with her tailed beast and has control over the power she has." Minato explained.

"Huh, and is she as good of a prankster as Naruto is? Your kid cracks me up." The younger officer smiled, making Kabuto frown. His once chance at sowing doubt into the ranks of the his captors was snatched.

"I don't know yet, honestly. But I know the two are quite smitten with one another. I'm sure in time she'll get in on it as well. But boy does she have a temper." Minato chuckled.

"Oh joy. Ya hear that, Kab-y? In a couple of years were gonna have little jinchuriki babies walking around with their little feet. Maybe we'll send them out to the Sound village and have them unleash their demons. Get little demon babies the size of houses stopping on Sound ninjas. Destroying whole communities. You of course can prevent this by telling us what you know. Think of all the lives you'll save..." The officer spoke.

"You think I or Lord Orochimaru care what happens to them? They are cannon fodder, disposable soldiers. We don't care what happens to them." Kabuto sneered.

"So you don't care about your life and you don't care about the life of your men. What do you care about?" Minato asked.

"My Lord's success in his plans. That is my only goal. To serve him and to aid him in his agenda."

"And what if we told you that you telling us what we want to know would help Lord Orochimaru with his plans?" The senior officer asked.

"What if in one hand and shit in the other. Which one fills up first?" Kaburo sneered. "Nothing will get me to reveal my secrets. I will take them to my grave." He said finally. He would speak no more.

"Oh damn, you foiled us." The younger officer sighed. "We had this whole great plan figured out too. You were going to ask us what we were talking about, then we'd have a line saying that you were upside down, and we had this audio genjutsu that would make you think that you were upside down, and you'd be all like whaaaaaat? Until you did believe that telling us would help your boss. But you just wouldn't play along, would you Kab-y? You're too smart for us." He fake pouted.

"Looks like we'll have to use the less fun method." The senior officer said as Minato gestured for the next man to come in. A shorter figure wearing an ANBU outfit and a weasel mask.

Kabuto said nothing as the man removed his mask.

"Itachi. Find everything you can about what Orochimaru's plans are." Minato ordered.

"Will do." Itachi said as he activated his Sharingan, only for Kabuto to shut his eyes and look away.

"Ibiki...would you be so kind as to have our guest look this way?" Minato asked.

"Of course, sir." Ibiki said as he leaned close to Kabuto's ear. "Open your eyes."

Kabuto refused, so Ibiki grabbed his head and forced open his eyes.

"No! I'll cooperate!" Kabuto pleaded. Hoping he could buy time with some lies.

"We gave you an out. Now you no longer have a choice." Minato stated.

"I mean, to be fair, we were gonna do this anyway." The younger officer said. "The last few days were just your chance to cooperate."

"NO PLEASE! NOOO!" Kabuto screamed before his gaze finally met Itachi's and he froze.

His eyes drooped and his mouth hung open as he fell under the trance.

"Kabuto, can you hear us?" Ibiki asked.

"...yes..." Kabuto replied listlessly.

"Do you know where you are?" Ibiki asked.

"...no..." Kabuto replied.

"Where do you think you are?"

"Underground in one of the Leaf's T&I interrogation rooms, although I am uncertain which one or even if I am still in the Land of Fire..." He responded.

"He's ready. I can begin the questioning." Ibiki said. "Tetsuo, take five." He ordered.

"Yes, sir." The young interrogation officer nodded before walking out.

Minato nodded at Ibiki before following behind Tetsuo.

"Where is Orochimaru?" Ibiki started.

"...I don't know..." Kabuto said.

"Where do you think he is most likely to be?"

"At his main base near Bargallona village in the Land of Sound, formally known as the Land of Rice Patties..."

"What are his plans?" Ibiki asked.

While Ibiki continued the interrogation, Minato followed Tetsuo out to the break room for the officers.

"Officer Tetsuo." Minato called out to make the Interrogation specialist stop in his tracks.

"Listen, about Sakura..." Minato began

"Respectfully sir," Tetsuo interrupted. "I meant what I said. I've got nothing against your son or your wife. They're both good people and I'm sure this Sakura girl is too. But I don't trust jinchuriki the same way I wouldn't trust a time bomb..." Tetsuo spat as he poured himself a cup of coffee. The memories of that night 12 years ago making him shake.

"I can assure you that Sakura has far more control with her tailed beast than Naruto does. I have seen her using Saiken's power. Completely calm and level headed, yet she can outmatch just about everyone here. Plus, she's a medic trained by Lady Tsunade."

"So, she's taken an oath to do no harm to the innocent then..." Tetsuo mused.

"Yes...however, she has had moments where her rage has gotten the better of her. Lord Jiraiya wants to take both her and Naruto on a training trip to learn how to better control their tailed beasts. I give you my word that neither Sakura nor Naruto will do any harm to our village."

"I already told you that I don't have any problems with them. Unlike those asshole civilians, I know what the difference is between a jinchuriki and a demon is, and I'll never trust a demon." Tetsuo said. "Respectfully sir, again, you'd be better off unsealing them from those two and sealing the demons away deep underground. No matter the consequences." Tetsuo said, making Minato shake at the suggestion of what that meant.

"And if I could do that without killing them I would." Minato said. "But I can't."

"Well then we are at an impasse..." Tetsuo said as he chugged his coffee, not caring for how hot it felt going down his throat.

"If you excuse me sir, there are a few other prisoners I need to get to today."

"Of course." Minato nodded.

Tetsuo headed out the door, leaving Minato alone in the break room to stew in his thoughts.

* * *

A few days later, team 7 arrived back at the village gates, their presence known by Ami's loud and obnoxious ranting.

"I can't believe that brat tried to propose to me!" She complained to her teammates.

 _'I can believe it.'_ Naruto thought to himself. _'Wanna know why? You've told us about it every hour since we've left so I've got no choice but to believe you.'_

"Yea, I will agree with you there. That was weird." Naruto agreed.

"Ditto." Sasuke mumbled.

"Well, that's in the past now. Now we can chill out for a while." Kakashi sighed.

"Awesome! Now I can hang out with Sakura-chan." Naruto beamed, earning quizzical looks from his teammates.

"Who the heck is Sakura-chan? This imaginary girlfriend you keep telling us about?" Ami sneered, taking a break from trying to make Sasuke jealous by repeating on about her proposal from the 9 year old Lord of North Eastern Providence of the Land of Fire.

"She's not imaginary! She's real!" Naruto snapped.

"Yea, right." Ami scoffed.

"Actually, he's right." Kakashi stated.

"Oh come on, Kakashi-sensei. Not you too." Ami said.

"On the contrary, I've seen her myself. She's Lady Tsunade's student." Kakashi reaffirmed.

"ACK! THE Legendary Sannin Tsunade?!" Ami exclaimed, knowing about the Sannin completely as she is a fan of hers.

"The very same. Maybe you'll get to meet her." Kakashi shrugged.

"NARUTO!" Came a voice from the distance. Team 7 looked over to see a cheery pink haired girl waving enthusiastically at them from a ways down the street.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto cheered before running in her direction.

"Holy shit she's real..." Sasuke said in shock, his eyes wide with shock.

"I told you." Kakashi said simply as he watched his student and Sakura wrap each other up in a hug, the latter giggling with joy that Naruto had come back.

"Well I'll be damned...for once he wasn't telling us a story." Ami said in awe.

Naruto finished spinning Sakura around and placed her back on the ground.

"Sorry about having to run out on you. Ya know, duty calls and all..." Naruto apologized.

"It's alright Naruto, I get it." Sakura said playfully.

"Yeah, well we can still catch that movie if you want. Popcorn is on me." Naruto offered.

"You got it. Oh and get this! Lady Tsunade and Shizune are moving into a Hotel for a while, but I get to stay with you." Sakura beamed.

"No way. It's gonna be like a sleepover that never ends." Naruto beamed back.

"Well...the thing is...we have to abide by certain stipulations and Lady Tsunade said that I can only stay until an apartment becomes available."

"Such as...?" Naruto asked.

"Um...well..." Sakura stuttered, a little embarrassed.

"Ahem." Ami coughed.

Sakura noticed the voice she heard and turned to face a purple haired girl, a black-haired boy with an attitude, and a tall man with silver hair.

"Um, hi." Sakura greeted, a little nervous.

"So, this is the famous Sakura that everyone has been talking about?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura blushed at the praise. "Oh...I wouldn't say famous..."

"Really? You're all the Dobe has been talking about since our mission began." Sasuke said.

Sakura had a tick mark form on her forehead. "What did you call him..." She growled.

 _'She's got Lady Tsunade's temper, that's for sure.'_ Kakashi thought.

"I said he's a Dead Last idiot." Sasuke confirmed.

Sakura snorted. "You're right, Naruto. He is a stuck up bastard who has a ducks ass for a hairstyle."

A tick mark now appeared on Ami's forehead. "You take that back!"

"I will if he does." Sakura said simply.

"I'm not taking back the truth." Sasuke stated.

"And yet he's a far better person than you'll ever be. Especially if that asshole father of yours is anything to go by." Sakura said.

"You take that back about my father! What do you even know about him?!" Sasuke snapped.

"Well based on our interaction when I first arrived, trying to bully his way into Naruto's house and harass his sick mother, I'd say that says a lot about him really. And honestly, I have no use for stuck up assholes."

"My father makes the point of treating all criminals equally. Even medically ill ones." Sasuke stated.

The kids started arguing back and forth and Kakashi couldn't help but feel embarrassed by proxy.

 _'Great. This is exactly how I wanted my morning to go. Listening to brats.'_ He thought as a little bird landed on his shoulder with a note attached to its ankle. Kakashi took the note and fed the bird some birdseed he kept in one of his pockets. He unraveled the note and read... _'Jounin Kakashi Hatake, but order of the Fourth Lord Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, you are hereby designated Genin Sakura Haruno to be your temporary fourth subordinate in team 7. Until Chunin Sasuke Uchiha's reallocation to his new squad is finalized...'_ Kakashi read.

Kakashi crumpled up the strip of paper. _'And this is my life now... I am in Hell...'_

As he looked up, Ami took a swing at Sakura. _'Oh no...'_ He thought, but then widened his eyes a little bit when Sakura blocked it with just her index finger, effortlessly.

"I'm sorry, was that supposed to do something?" Sakura smirked.

Ami then kicked Sakura's shin when the pink medic wasn't looking, getting a good hit in.

"Aaah, bitch!" Sakura snapped as she hopped on one foot. She slammed her foot with he hit shin on the ground, causing it to shake and crack under the pressure.

"Damn that hurts..." Sakura muttered, only to see extremely shocked and terrified faces from Ami and Sasuke.

 _'And she's got Tsunade's strength...'_ Kakashi sweat dropped.

"What are you, a monster?" Ami asked.

Sakura's eyes turned dark. "Do you wanna find out?" She growled quietly, making the poor girl sweat.

"Alright, that's enough you four." Kakashi called.

Sakura looked over at Naruto's sensei as he walked up to the group.

"So...I just got word that Sakura will be joining us as a 4th member of the team until Sasuke's transfer goes through, where she will fully take his place." Kakashi announced.

"Are you kidding me sensei!?" Ami exclaimed.

"Nope. She needs to get a feel for how we shinobi operate and since we will be down a man when Sasuke leaves, she is going to be trained to replace him. Plus, she is a medic." Kakashi confirmed.

"Sasuke, please stay! You can't leave me with these two losers!" Ami begged.

"Then I would be staying with 3 losers." Sasuke bit. _'But at least this Sakura isn't a fangirl...'_ He mused.

"Oh screw you." Sakura said as she took Naruto's hand. "Come on, Naruto. Let's go to the movies!" She snapped as she pulled him away.

"Actually, I think it would be a fantastic idea for all four of you to go to the movies together." Kakashi said. Causing Naruto and Sakura to stop in their tracks.

"You cannot be serious." Naruto said.

"Very serious. You all need to relearn to be a team it seems. Even you Sasuke. You're going to need to learn this quickly if you want to join another team. Chunin teams aren't exactly friendly to newcomers and you acting like a hardass isn't going help you either."

"No." Sasuke said simply.

"You'll do it, or you'll all join Gai's team for taijutsu training for a week. Either way is fine with me." Kakashi stated. All of the veterans of team 7 shuttered in the memory of the man.

"Gai? Who's that?" Sakura asked.

"A physical fitness nut." Naruto said.

"He's a Taijutsu master and so is his 'star pupil.'" Kakashi clarified.

"Really?" Sakura asked with genuine curiosity. "I'm always looking to test and/or improve my Taijutsu."

 _'This...is a brave girl.'_ Kakashi thought in awe. _'Either that, or she's just as stupid as Naruto.'_

"Sakura..." Naruto said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "No, just no..." He begged.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad." Sakura scoffed.

"Trust me. Even Sasuke-Teme over here would rather go to the movies than do that training. And he's all about growing stronger." Naruto said.

"It's true, I would… Dobe." Sasuke replied.

"Yeah. Let's just go to the movies." Ami chimed in. _'It'll be like a double date with Sasuke-kun._ ' She squealed to herself.

"I didn't want to go because there was nothing playing I wanted to see." Sasuke admitted. Then he thought about something. "Sakura. You've been here. Did that Sci-fi movie come out while we were gone?"

"Uh...what's it called?" Sakura asked.

"The Martian." Sasuke said.

"Oh, yea I do remember seeing that on their sign board."

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm game then."

 _'Sasuke is a sci-fi fan? Why?'_ Ami thought in confusion. She hated sci-fi movies.

"Don't you have a theater in your basement, Naruto-kun? Why not just watch it there?" Sakura asked.

"I don't have the most recent films. It hasn't come out on DVD yet." Naruto said.

"Oh...I thought you just get copies of the reels. Never mind then." Sakura shrugged as the group of 4 walked to the movies.

"Wait, Naruto has a home theater system?" Ami asked.

"And a full arcade and a pool." Sakura added.

"You didn't know this, Ami?" Sasuke asked.

"No, I didn't." Ami admitted.

"Well he does." Sasuke said.

"Wow..." Ami said in awe.

"Come on, I don't wanna miss the trailers." Sakura said as she pulled on Naruto's arm.

"Alright, we're coming." Sasuke sighed.

* * *

Team 7 made their way down to the theater near the bustling market Square in town. Thankfully the owner didn't feel strongly one way or another about demons or jinchuriki. So long as you paid.

"You kids enjoy the show." The owner said as he handed them their tickets.

The four of them stopped to get some snacks, Naruto getting a huge bowl of popcorn with extra butter for him and Sakura to share as well as two large soda's. Ami did the same for her and Sasuke since he really didn't seem interested in getting her anything.

They all made their way into their room as the first trailer began to appear. The theater seemed kinda empty for some reason so they all sat in the back row, which was only four seats. Interestingly enough, Sakura and Ami sat in the outer seats while Sasuke and Naruto sat in the inner.

The first trailer played with an epic score with several edits of fast moving scenes, followed by characters dramatically turning their heads toward the camera as their dialog played in the background. More edits followed by fighting scenes, and then a big old shot of a spaceship with a saucer design hurling towards a planet's surface. The screen went to black and the title appeared.

 _STAR TREK: BEYOND_

"Hey I could go see that." Naruto said, making Sasuke smirk.

"Seems we can agree on something." Sasuke said.

"Are you both crazy?" Sakura asked, frankly disgusted by what she saw.

"What? It's just a movie." Ami said.

"It doesn't have the same morals the original story had, which was about making peace with your enemies. All it is, is an over glorified CGI film with over use of lens flares,, poor character portrayal, terrible ship design compared to the original, the plot is garbage, the reason for the plot is ridiculous, it might as well be a Star Wars movie made to look like Star Trek and a poor attempt at it as well. This coming from a Star Trek girl who has seen all 10 of the movies and every episode since the pilot episode that aired in 1966." Sakura ranted, making Naruto and Sasuke go wide eyed.

"Well it's still just a movie. Who cares?" Sasuke stated.

Sakura's left eye twitched.

"Wow, Sakura-chan. I didn't know you were such a fan." Naruto admitted.

"What can I say? I love the storyline. I have all of the movies and season boxsets in a storage scroll." Sakura shrugged.

"Awesome..." Sasuke muttered in awe.

"What's that Teme?" Naruto asked.

"I'm a big fan of Star Trek too. I used to watch it with my big brother all the time..." Sasuke said before growing quiet.

 _'What?!'_ Ami shrieked to herself. She had no idea Sasuke was such a nerd. _'Oh man...I didn't know he was such a nerd...'_

"Well then maybe you'd like to come over and watch them with us sometime?" Sakura offered, trying to salvage what little hope there was at becoming friends with at least one of them.

"Like I'd ever be friends with a loser like him." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, right back at you. Not gonna happen." Naruto said firmly.

Sakura just sighed heavily. "Well...thought I'd try..."

"Wow. You really don't know anything about Sasuke-kun. Don't you, Billboard Brow." Ami smirked.

"What the fuck did you just call me you plastic bitch."

"What? It's a compliment. I bet you could take notes on that thing." Ami smirked.

"Ami, enough." Naruto snapped.

"Why?"

Ami looked over to see Sakura's eyes change from green to...some kind of shape she didn't recognize.

"Because she could kill you without even giving it a second thought or trying, that's why." Naruto warned.

"Oh like she'd be stupid enough to try that. She'd be tried for murder like everyone else."

"Just enough." Naruto said to the both of them.

"Technically, you would be the cause of it since you seem to love instigating her." Sasuke spoke up.

"That doesn't give her the right to attack me." Ami said.

"Just everyone shut up and watch the movie." Sasuke said.

"Pfft...whatever..." Ami scoffed. The four of them ended their conversations on a sour note and sat in to watch the movie.

* * *

2 hours later...

"But consider this..." Matt Damon's character said, for Naruto couldn't remember his name. "I'd get to fly around like Iron Man..." Matt said.

As the character was picked up by the other astronauts, the movies credits began to scroll upwards, signifying the movie was over.

During that time, Ami had fallen asleep, completely bored out of her mind.

"That was pretty good." Sakura commented as she stood up and stretched her stiff back.

"Definitely. I almost cried when he finally got into space." Naruto said.

"It wasn't as good as I had hoped, but it was good." Sasuke commented.

"Ah, you're just sad that it didn't have a romantic subplot or whatever." Naruto said.

"Hm..." Sasuke mumbled before turning his attention to the sleeping Ami. "Wow...she fell asleep."

"I'd say that's an insult considering she wants to date you." Naruto said.

Ami started to stir after hearing that.

"Like she ever had a chance. Even if there was a part of me that liked her like that, it's gone now." Sasuke said harshly.

"Wow. Aren't you just a ball of sunshine." Sakura said.

"Yea...that's Sasuke for you." Naruto said simply.

"Screw you both." Sasuke said as he stood back up. He looked at them both and his eyes rested on Sakura. "You might be alright." He said before looking over at Naruto. "And you are still a Dobe." Sasuke said before shaking Ami awake.

"I was already awake..." Ami said softly, having heard Sasuke's harsh words.

"Then let's go. I'll walk you home." Sasuke offered.

"Y-you will?" Ami asked.

"Yup. It's getting late and my mom said it would be rude not to offer." Sasuke said.

Ami's face lit up like a hundred-watt bulb. "Thank you!"

That was when Naruto thought about something before turning to Sakura. "Sakura-chan?"

"Mmm?"

"Was...this technically...a date...?" Naruto asked sheepishly.

Sakura blushed but smiled. "Do...you think it was?"

"Well...besides Ami and Sasuke...yea, kinda."

Sakura just smiled brighter. "Then...this is a date."

"Gag me..." Sasuke grumbled.

"Oh relax, Teme. We're just friends." Naruto said.

 _'Not for long.'_ Sakura thought.

"Yea, 'Just friends' don't go on dates." Sasuke pointed out.

"Says you. When's the last time you went to the movies with friends?" Naruto said.

"Who says I want friends?" Sasuke scoffed.

"You're right. It might cut into your 'my clan is so great' contemplating time." Naruto said.

"Careful on using such big words there Dobe. You wouldn't want your brain to overheat." Sasuke snapped.

"Naruto...he...does have a point." Sakura said.

"About my head overheating?" Naruto asked.

Sakura sighed. _'God he's such a twit...'_ "We'll talk about it when we get home."

* * *

The group left the theater, Sasuke walking Ami home while Naruto and Sakura walked back to the Namikaze estate.

"That was fun. Don't think I've ever had a team building exercise with Sasuke and Ami that was so civil." Naruto said as he and Sakura walked through the streets.

"You'd call that civil? I was ready to throttle that bitch." Sakura huffed.

"Yet you didn't. Civil." Naruto said as they passed by kids running through the streets after dark.

"Yeah...any reason that your teammates seem to hate you so much?" Sakura asked, feeling that it was better to pull the pin on the grenade now while there was time to recover.

"I honestly try not to think about it too much. Out on missions, during a fight, we all work together well. Which is all that matters if you think about it." Naruto shrugged.

"Well yeah, but that just begs the question of why they treat you like that? Is it because of your...friend?" Sakura asked.

"Because of the Kyuubi? Who is not my friend. No. They both know and they don't care. They hate me for other reasons." Naruto grumbled.

"Such as...?" Sakura asked, afraid of the answer.

"Well Sasuke's family and my family are rivals. So there's that." Naruto said. "It's pretty recent too. None of those thousand year long stalemate rivalries you always hear about. His dad is a prick to my dad who thought pairing us up on the same team would bring our families together. It didn't work. And Ami is one of the many Sasuke fan girls from back when we were in the Academy together. She puts me down to stay on Sasuke's good side." Naruto explained.

"Oh...so that's what it is...but, wait a minute..." Sakura began to think. "Sasuke, despite our first encounter, seems to be warming up to me albeit slowly. Yet he despises Ami. Do you think it's because Ami is just smothering him with unwanted affection yet she's too dim and love struck to realize it?"

"I have no freaking idea and I don't care. Ami wasn't any kinder to me before she developed her crush on Sasuke. And I don't expect that to change once she gets the memo that he is just not that into her." Naruto said as they arrived on the road that led to the compound.

"And why is that?"

"I might have stolen her first kiss back in Kindergarten and ignored her for the rest of the school year. So when she said that she was dating the Hokage's son and I didn't back her up, she was made a laughing stock till 2nd grade." Naruto admitted.

"Ooohhh...now I get it..." Sakura realized. "She doesn't really have a crush on Sasuke at all."

"Oh she does. She's told me about it every chance she's gotten."

"And that just confirms it. Do you know what that really is? It's a jealousy tactic."

"That she kept up for 7 years?"

"Girls are fickle, Naruto. She's trying to make you feel jealous so you can fight Sasuke for her."

"That's never going to happen." Naruto stated.

"I didn't think it would. But, now I understand them better."

As they walked, they found themselves hit with the overwhelming smells of freshly baked sweets. Sakura's head snapped to the source the like a bloodhound and her eyes sparkled at the sight of the glowing red neon sign reading _Shisui's Dango._

"Oh my god! Please tell me that Dango shop allows you to be there! I love Dango!" Sakura pleaded.

Naruto smiled. "Sure does! You wouldn't believe who runs it."

"Who?" Sakura asked as a young man stepped out of the shop to get some fresh air.

"Hey Shisui!" Naruto called out to the man with short, spikey, dark hair.

"Well hey there Naruto. Come on in! I just made a fresh batch." Shisui smiled.

"Sweet. Gonna need some of your best for my friend Sakura here. Newest addition to my team." Naruto introduced.

"You two on a date?" Shisui teased.

"No, just as friends, big bro." Naruto waved off as Sakura got a good look at the man. His dark hair, onyx eyes, and his subtle facial features led Sakura to realize one thing.

"Hi, I'm sorry, but are you...an Uchiha?" Sakura asked.

Shisui looked amused at the young girl's question. He let his activated Sharingan do most of the talking. "I don't know. Is that a problem?" He asked politely.

"N-no...uh...it's just that...you seem very kind compared to the Uchiha's I've already met." Sakura admitted.

Shisui laughed. "Don't let those Uchiha you've met hear you say that. They wouldn't be happy being compared to me at all." Shisui said as he began preparing Naruto's usual order.

"And another thing." Sakura said, being her usual nosy self. "Why did Naruto call you big bro? I thought there was a rivalry going on between his family and your family...uh, sir?" Sakura said, trying to be polite, while earning another laugh from Shisui.

"Well you see, funny you should mention that. Cause it all relates back to one long story." Shisui said as he hoisted up his leg and Sakura could hear the clang of metal as his prosthetic leg stood up on the counter. "And it more or less ends with me losing this leg right here. So understand if I don't feel like recounting it to a stranger at the drop of a hat." Shisui said as he put his leg down and started cleaning off the counter.

"Oh my...do you have any residual pain?" Sakura asked. "I was trained as a medic by Lady Tsunade."

"No, I've got no pain. Thank you though. But Lady Tsunade you said? Wish she was back in the village 5 years ago, she could have done something about it then. Of course, then I wouldn't have this reminder for myself." Shisui said.

"Let's see...5 years ago, where were we..." Sakura muttered as she tried to remember. "Oh! I remember, we were in The Hidden Cloud. The Raikage's brother was ill."

"Well then there was no helping it. Not that you being in the Land of Fire would have done anything otherwise." Shisui said.

"I see..." Sakura said sadly.

"No worries. Do you see anything you'd like, or would you just want another one of Naruto's orders?"

"The same as Naruto please." Sakura smiled.

"Sure thing. You two paying separate or together?" Shisui asked as he made another bag full.

"I got it." Naruto said before pulling out his wallet.

'Date?'Shisui mouthed to Sakura.

Sakura blushed, but nodded. 'He hasn't caught on yet.' She mouthed back.

'Give it time.' Shisui mouthed back as Naruto finished fishing the necessary cash out of his froggy wallet.

"So...what is your usual, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Some berry flavored ones and a few chocolates with one cake and one maple bacon one." Naruto said as he took a blueberry dango and plopped it into his mouth.

"Maple...bacon...? I don't think I've had that one before."

"I usually save it second to last. It's sinfully good, just not something you want for an aftertaste." Naruto said, explaining the finer culinary points behind eating junk food.

"Huh...alright then. Thank you." Sakura smiled.

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan." Naruto smiled before taking his bag and heading for the door. Sakura looked back at Shisui.

"Thank you for the dango." She said as she took her own bag of dango.

"No problem. And Sakura…"

"Yeah huh?"

"Good luck." Shusui smiled, alluding to her getting thought to Naruto. To that, Sakura blushed and held her bag of baked treats close to her chest.

"Thank you." She squeaked before running outside to join her wish-he-was-my-boyfriend-friend.

"Ah...young love..." Shisui sighed before getting ready to close up for the night.

"Hello Shisui." Came a voice from a masked figure entering from the shadows.

Shisui saw the weasel mask and smiled. "Hello Itachi. You're home early."

"I finished up early. Good thing too. Big things are about to happen." Itachi said.

"Oh? Like what?"

"Nothing I can tell a civilian I'm afraid." Itachi said as he helped Shisui close up the shop.

"Oh right...does it involve what I think it does?"

"I don't know what you think it does." Itachi said.

"I have a feeling that it involves Orochimaru." Shisui said.

"And where would you get an idea like that?"

"I don't know...it just feels like that's what it's about. You know how I am about my gut feelings."

"I do. And if you weren't just a humble dango store owner I'd love to tell you how you hit the nail on the head."

Shisui let out a shaky sigh. "So...I was right..."

"That's all I can say. But this is big. Like, I couldn't risk it on the off chance our house was tapped by spies." Itachi said as he closed the shutters and locked them for the night.

"I understand...in which case, I wish those who are involved good luck. If you're one of them...stay safe my friend."

"Don't worry, cousin. I will." Itachi promised.

* * *

As they two Uchiha outcasts finished locking up for the night, the two Jinchuriki outcasts were enjoying a brisk stroll through the secluded streets of the Leaf and the last of their purchased dango sweets.

 _'Okay, so what if he didn't ask me out yet and this isn't technically a date? We're still friends and this is still fun.'_ Sakura thought to herself. No need to press the issue and make it weird.

 _ **'Hey, if you're happy, I've got no complaints. Wouldn't kill you to get to know Naruto more before actually dating him.'**_ Saiken thought.

 _'Right.'_ Sakura thought. "So, Naruto. How was your mission? I don't think I asked."

Naruto looked up from his dango, having spent the last few moments in oral bliss. "Hmm? Oh, the mission. It was pretty good I'd say. We had to protect some minor Lord and his family. The bandits didn't give us too much trouble, if anything the son was the most annoying."

"How so?" Sakura asked.

"Oh my Sage. He was like this 9-year-old kid that just had a million questions about us ninja. He had this romanticized impression of ninja too. Probably because of that damn card game he wouldn't shut up about either." Naruto said.

"Card game? Which one?" Sakura asked.

"Oh you know. That one card game, I think it's called Shinobi Wars. The one with all the famous ninjas in it. You've got cards for Kages from all the different villages and you've got regular troop cards which are just used as pawns I guess." Naruto explained. _'Oh God, I've become just like that kid.'_

"Oh right. I used to play that with Shizune." Sakura said. "Only it's called Duel Ninjas. Common mistake."

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. "You're kidding me."

"Nope, dead serious. We were always in between towns so we had to do something to pass the time." Sakura shrugged.

"You still play it?" Naruto asked, curious.

"Eh...not seriously if that's what you mean. Like I said, I played it just to pass the time."

"Hmmm, you know come to think of it. I don't think it's allowed in this village." Naruto said, remembering something from his time in the Academy.

"It's not? Why?" Sakura asked.

"If I had to guess, it's because it had all the different Kages available in the game. This being a ninja village and all, you wouldn't want young ninjas to think that the Raikage or the Kazekage were cooler than the Hokage."

"Aah...loyalty thing. I gotcha."

"Yeah, I just remembered a time back when I was really young. I saw some kids in class bring in some Shinobi Wars trading cars. The instructor flipped out and snatched the cards away from the kid. I think his parents were called." Naruto said as he resumed his walking. "We then had a few days' lecture on the many accomplishments of all our Hokages."

"Yup...loyalty thing. Well hell. My deck is just sitting in my bag doing nothing. If ya see that boy again you're welcome to give it to him." Sakura shrugged.

"I don't plan on it. And if my team ever has to protect him again, I think Ami will kill him."

"Ah...well, I don't know her well enough to agree or disagree with her so."

"You never had to deal with annoying kids on your travels? No stuck-up lords or ladies who employed the service of the great Princess Tsunade?" Naruto asked.

"No, mainly because Tsunade refused them." Sakura shrugged.

"Why is that anyway? She's supposed to be the best medical ninja in the world. What made her give up medicine for so long?" Naruto inquired.

"She...doesn't like to talk about it..." Sakura said hesitantly. "Basically, she had witnessed a traumatic event involving someone close to her and she developed a fear of blood because of it. It's a very sensitive subject."

"Ah, I see. Forget I asked then." Naruto said, knowing all too well about taboo subjects. "Still, she's pretty impressive. How many years of not being a doctor and she jumps right back into it in time to save my Dad when no other doctor could." Naruto put his hands being his head.

"Yes, and I thank her for that with every second goes by." Sakura stated.

"You do? What for?" Naruto asked, curious.

"Um...well that she was able to pull it together to save your dad. I mean, I know what its like not having parents. Lady Tsunade is all I've had since I was born. But I have seen families torn apart from loved ones dying and I wouldn't want to see you go through that."

Naruto was a bit astonished at her answer. It seemed so genuinely heartfelt, he couldn't help but blush. "Wow, thanks Sakura-chan. That's really sweet of you." He smiled his huge smile with his eyes closed.

Sakura smiled. "Don't mention it."

The two of them walked past a trashcan and threw away their garbage. They had unknowingly been walking around the edge of the main city and we're right on the edge of the forest where all the training grounds were located. Sakura stretched her arms over her head. The movie and the dango sweets had left her feeling a little sluggish.

"Oh hey, we're right by my team's training grounds." Naruto pointed out. Not even noticing that they were heading in that direction.

"No kidding? Why don't we go there and spar for a bit?" Sakura suggested, she desperately needed a work out after all that junk food.

"I don't see why not. You're gonna be a member of Team 7 soon, right? Might as well introduce you to our private training grounds." Naruto said before leading Sakura into the woods. They traveled maybe 200 yards before coming across three wooden beams in the ground that looked to be the recipients of a lot of punches, kicks, and sharp throwing objects.

"What are those for?" Sakura asked.

"Oh those? They are the unofficially named Loser Stumps." Naruto declared as he pounded on the middle stump with his fist three times.

"And they're called that why?"

"Because whomever fails to get a bell in the Bell Test gets tied to the stump." Naruto said, earning a look from Sakura that demanded that the young ninja elaborate. "See, in order to graduate from the Academy, three Genin get paired up into a squad with one Jounin leader and he is supposed to test to see if you're ready to become a ninja. Kakashi-sensei tested us with the Bell Test in order to test our teamwork. Basically, we had to steal two bells from him in order to not be sent back to the Academy. Anyone who failed to not get a bell before lunch time got to be tied to the stump and watch Kakashi the rest eat their lunches."

"Geez...sounds like a horrible punishment."

"It was actually all a trick to make us selflessly sacrifice ourselves for the rest of the team." Naruto said.

"Oh I see. So, who got tied to the post?" Sakura asked.

"Believe it or not, Sasuke and Ami." Naruto replied.

"Oh really? You never once got tied up, huh?" Sakura smirked.

"Nope. Pervy Sage was giving me private lessons before I graduated and he told me about the secret to the test. Sasuke didn't want to work with me no matter what I told him and Ami went along with Sasuke. I thought for certain that we were going to fail so I offered the two of them my bento if they agreed to work together with me in order to graduate. And wouldn't you know it, that ended up being the thing that made Kakashi decide to pass us."

"Well, how about that..." Sakura said in mild awe. "So, it's a teamwork exercise. Sounds simple enough. Even I know a ninja team cannot function without proper teamwork."

"Well I think on some level Sasuke knew that too. He's not an idiot. He just couldn't stand the thought of having to be on a team with me. So, he figured that if he got a bell all by himself, it would prove his skills and he could request a transfer to another squad." Naruto clarified.

"And Ami?" Sakura asked.

"Again, she was hoping she could work alongside Sasuke and stay on his team no matter what. Or at least get him to agree to a date."

"I don't know why she chose him to make you feel jealous, if that's what it is." Sakura sighed. "He just seems like an arrogant punk."

"He's dark, brooding, and mysterious. Isn't that what all girls love in a guy?" Naruto asked.

"Maybe the blind ones. Not me...I like guys who are...well...like you, in a way." Sakura admitted with a blush.

Now Naruto was blushing. "Like me in what way?"

"Dedicated, compassionate, kind, easy going, funny, considerate of others..." Sakura listed off.

"Oh come on, you're exaggerating." Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"Nope. Not in the slightest." Sakura smiled. She knelt down and tightened her boots while Naruto stood dumbfounded at her high praise.

"So, how do you want to do this spar? Strict hand to hand taijutsu? Go all out with ninja tools and jutsu?" Sakura asked.

"Huh? Oh...um...well, my dad wanted me to test you so all out I guess."

"Good. It's been a while since I was able to cut loose." Sakura smirked as she readied herself.

"Let's stick to our own chakra though. No demon chakra." Naruto said as he zipped up his jacket. No need to have it flapping around.

"Doesn't matter to me. You're still gonna lose." Sakura smirked.

"I think you meant to say win." Naruto smirked back as he performed some quick stretches. Getting himself nice and limber.

"I meant what I said. It's time to see which Sannin trained the best pupil." Sakura smirked.

"Yeah, the one who's been a wandering rogue for twenty years or the one who's been the village spymaster for twenty years?" Naruto smirked.

"On your go." Sakura said.

"If you insist." Naruto said as he dropped into his basic ninja stance with his knees and elbows bent, his right hand hanging right over his kunai pouch. As fast as Sakura could blink, he threw two shuriken and one kunai at her head while he charged right behind them. Sakura ducked below the shuriken, but her instincts noticed something about the kunai. She reached up and snatched it out of the air and felt its awkward handle.

 _'Naruto's fancy kunai.'_ Sakura thought right before Naruto appeared right behind Sakura, his hand clutching the rest of the kunai handle.

 _'Crap.'_ Sakura thought. She let him get behind her so easily.

Naruto having the initiative, threw his elbow back to knock Sakura on the head. The kunoichi remembered her vital points though and had her forearm up to block the strike. Naruto kept up his momentum and pushed his left heel in between Sakura's legs to break her balance.

With no room to maneuver, Sakura concentrated her chakra into her entire legs, cementing them to the ground via the tree climbing technique and turning them as solid as a knotted old tree. Naruto landed several quick pointed strikes, but he could not knock her down, only back.

 _'He's quick and nimble, like air.'_ Sakura thought as she countered with her infamous chakra enhanced punch, only to have Naruto roll with the blow and escape unharmed.

Sakura threw another punch, but Naruto simply ducked underneath it and crouched down like a loaded spring. Faster than Sakura could react, he sprang up, stretching out his entire body to hit Sakura with two open palms right in the belly. Sakura couldn't handle the strength of Naruto's entire body and was sent sailing through the air.

Sakura got the wind knocked out of her, but she was used to such things. She focused through the pain and righted herself to land on her feet, her boots skidding against the loose dirt of the training grounds.

Naruto instinctively hopped to the ground after his attack, giving away the origin of his move. For a split second, he squatted like a frog before standing back up.

Now Sakura really was impressed. She had never seen moves like that before. Much less with someone her age.

"Dang. Nice moves." Sakura complimented.

"You're not bad yourself. But I think we can skip the warm-up now." Naruto said.

"Wait... Warm-up? You knew I was holding back?" Sakura asked.

"Well yeah. No way I could take you down so easy. You're better than that." Naruto said matter-of-factly.

"You're right I am..." Sakura smirked as a small, purple diamond started to appear on her forehead. "It's time for you to see just how much better I am."

She tightened her fists and raised up her right foot like she was about to push off the ground and sprint right at Naruto. Even he expected a frontal assault but instead she slammed her boot heel right into the ground, shattering the very earth like glass. Naruto actually flinched when he felt the ground shift and become jagged. Which gave the pink medic just enough time to leap at Naruto with her leg raised over her head.

"Shannaro!" Sakura shouted as she brought the full might of her chakra enhanced strength down upon the poor blond.

 _'Crap!'_ Naruto thought as he leapt away at the last second. Sakura's boot heel skimmed right past his nose and buried itself in the shattered ground, knocking up huge chunks of earth.

 _'This chick is gonna kill me...'_ Naruto thought in fear.

Naruto flipped and landed on the top of a treetop, feeling like he just shaved 10 years off his lifespan. But Sakura wasn't done with him yet. She grabbed at the nearest chunk of rock with her scary strong fingers. They actually indented themselves in the rock like bowling ball holes. She yanked the refrigerator sized rock out of the ground like a carrot and twirled around to gain momentum. Once that was done she let it fly right where Naruto was crouching.

 _'Oh fuck me...'_ Naruto gulped.

Unknown to either of them, two figures were watching them from the trees.

* * *

Several minutes previously, in one of the apartment districts of downtown Hidden Leaf, Sasuke Uchiha had finished escorting Ami home and had politely refused her offer to join her family for a late dinner.

"But Sasuke-kun, my mother could make tomato salad, your favorite." Ami insisted.

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed. This was what he gets for mentioning that he likes tomatoes one time in class. His fangirls caught wind of it and now every single time they offer him a bento box it has tomatoes in it.

"No, I really need to head home." Sasuke said, trying to nice.

"Oh please stay..." Ami tried one last time before Sasuke walked away.

"Good night, Ami." Sasuke said with his back turned.

Ami's face lit up like a red balloon. _'He said good night to me! He really does care!'_ "Goodnight! Sasuke-kun!" Ami waved furiously from her front door stoop.

 _'Tch...This is really starting to annoy me.'_ Sasuke thought.

Sasuke then immediately turned the corner at the first possible alleyway to get out of sight of his fan girl. He needed time to think and cool off before he headed home. If his father catches him in a stink, then he'll take it as a personal attack and Sasuke didn't need his father's crap tonight.

Truth be told he always ended the day in a foul mood whenever he had to deal with his teammates.

Ami and her fan girlishness was part of it, sure, but he could never bring himself to really hate her. He didn't hate any of his fan girls, truth be told. They all annoyed the crap out of him, but they were just trying to express their love as his mother would tell him.

No. What really never failed to tick him off was the son of the Hokage. The golden boy Naruto.

 _'Naruto...'_ Sasuke growled to himself.

No matter where he was, Sasuke didn't have to travel far to find people who hated Naruto. The Son of the Demon Fox as the ignorant civilian villagers called him. All because Naruto was used to seal away the demon fox on the night that it broke free of his mother, unleashing its destruction upon the Leaf. Killing thousands and leveling half the town. If Sasuke were to wander over to the poorer districts in the Leaf he could still see the scars from that night.

Yet neither Sasuke nor the Uchiha clan feared the demon or his container. They had been blessed with the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. Together, they could control the beast with their genjutsu.

Sasuke did not hate Naruto for being the 9 Tails' Jinchuriki. He hated him for a far more personal crime.

Sasuke punched the nearest concrete wall as the memories flowed back from that fateful night. He was only 8 years old...

 ** _flashback_**

Sasuke was returning home from target practice late. The full moon was out, not a cloud could be seen in the sky.

 _'Aw man, mom is gonna kill me for being out so late.'_ Sasuke thought to himself as he ran down the sidewalk and into his clan compound. Half a dozen city blocks all dedicated to the Uchiha clan exclusively. All the Uchiha and all the Uchiha businesses ran in this one private corner of the Leaf. Like their own private mini village inside the Leaf village.

 _'What the heck? Why is everything so dark?'_ Sasuke thought to himself as soon as he noticed all the shops along the street seemed to be closed early and everyone had turned off their porch lights. Only the city street lights remained on to illuminate Sasuke's path.

 _'What is going on? It's not that late, is it?'_

The boy headed straight home, keeping to the sidewalks instead of any alleyways. Something didn't feel right. _'Where is everybody?'_

Sasuke rounded the corner to the Main House where his family lived and low and behold there were lights shining out from the windows where the meeting hall of the clan was located. From the opposite end of the street, Sasuke could hear adults arguing inside the hall.

Sasuke dashed to his front door and opened it up to see the shoe rack absolutely filled with sandals, boots, and high heels. Sasuke had never seen the hallway so filled with shoes except for the family Christmas party.

 _'Is there a party going on?'_ Sasuke thought as he slipped off his own ninja sandals.

The arguing only seemed to grow louder as Sasuke made his way down the hall. Finally, he opened the sliding door to the clan meeting hall and saw every adult Uchiha sitting together and shouting one thing or another.

"Traitor!"

"Blood traitor!"

"You've screwed us you damn upstart!"

Sasuke couldn't believe some of the nasty things he was hearing. He could see his uncles and cousins all standing up, looking livid, his aunts sitting down and crying about something. Sasuke was flabbergasted. Everyone acted like their homes were on fire.

His young eyes darted around the room until finally resting on the back of the room. There he could see his mother sitting in one corner, crying and trying to hide her face. And Sasuke father and big brother Itachi having a shouting match in front of the entire clan.

Were he a bit older, Sasuke might have understood what was being said.

"You dare sell us out to the Hokage? Accuse us of plotting a coup?!" Fugaku roared.

"It's hardly an accusation, father." Itachi spat. "I saw what you did to Shisui when he was ready to tell the higher ups about your plan. After I fished him out of the river and brought him to the hospital."

"That was not us! How dare you accuse your own family members of assault?" Fugaku spat.

"Drop the act, father. Shisui woke up hours ago, he's fine, save for his leg, and told the Hokage and his advisors everything. The ANBU already have the names of five other Uchiha. Uncles." Itachi spat, his eyes trailing towards each of the accused.

"Damn it, Itachi. It's not too late. Help us carry out our plans. You could be named the Fifth Hokage within a fortnight. I only wish to see this village saved from lighthearted foolishness." Fugaku stated.

"You wish to take what you think you deserve, but my loyalty is not so easily bought, father. It is to the village and its people. Had you any sense at all, your loyalties would be the same."

"Loyalty to the village that ostracizes and belittles us? US!? The great Uchiha clan who founded this village! 100 years ago, our clan was a clan of conquers. We were feared across all provinces. We were not guard dogs meant to serve the ungrateful citizens who fear us and accuse us of bringing misfortune upon the village!" Fugaku ranted, stirring up the crowd in his favor.

"The rumors surrounding our clan are unfair, yes. But if you go through with this foolish plan, you will prove every one of them right. You will throw the ninja village, our home, into chaos. Making us vulnerable to our enemies. Even if you win, all you will do is sow further dissent against us for the villagers that remain." Itachi argued, making a few of the Uchiha clansmen whom only worked in shops and not a part of the ninja core mummer in agreement.

"Father, please. Lord Fourth has agreed to drop all the charges of treason if you would just meet him at the table. You could negotiate for better conditions for our clan and no one would ever have to know of your treachery. He has assured me of this." Itachi begged.

"You would have me beg and squabble in front of that weakling like a dog?" Fugaku spat. "I would rather have our family turned to ash so that we may go out in a blaze of glory!"

"Then you will not drag me down into your suicidal inferno! I will leave this retched family and fight alongside my true brothers!" Itachi stood up.

"You would renounce your own blood? You truly have fallen, Itachi." Fugaku spat.

"No father, it is you who have fallen." Itachi stated, he drew his sword, for at that moment he noticed his five accused uncles rushing towards him with red in their eyes. Itachi's own Sharingan were spinning, expecting to fight.

"BROTHER, NO!" Sasuke cried out, his shriek piercing the shouts echoing through the room. At once, the clan all stopped, Itachi had just unsheathed his ANBU blade and stared at his younger brother. All eyes were upon Sasuke; some blood red, and the rest onyx.

"Sasuke-kun." Mikoto whispered at she spied her youngest son. The youngest Uchiha then pushed his way through his seated kin and made his way up to the front of the meeting hall.

"Big bro, don't go..." Sasuke cried out, his eyes misty from all the yelling, even if he didn't understand why. "Please..."

"Sasuke-kun, go upstairs to your room." Mikoto begged, she didn't want her son to see this, but Sasuke wouldn't budge.

"You see what you do, Itachi?" Fugaku spat. "You betrayed everyone. Including your little brother."

"Big bro, is this true?" Sasuke asked, not understanding how Itachi betrayed Sasuke, or anyone else for that matter.

Itachi looked at Sasuke with a pained expression. His face looked angry, yet his eyes were filled with sadness.

"Is this how you do things, father? You hide behind your own son to try and guilt me?" Itachi spat. "I'm surprised you'd sink that low. Then again, you do let those rumors of Naruto being a demon spread freely among the lower class. I shouldn't be surprised." Itachi sheathed his sword, feeling the tense in the room calm down to a dull roar.

"I'm leaving, father. I would take Sasuke with me, but I could never tear mom away from her only other son." Itachi stated, looking over at his mother who knelt behind Sasuke, pathetically holding onto Sasuke's arm while the rest of her family fell apart at the seams.

"So, you officially side with Minato Namikaze over your own father?" Fugaku spat as he moved to stand between Itachi and Sasuke.

"Minato has been more like a father to me than you ever have. He talks to me about my day instead of how I am working to better the standing of the clan. He treats me like a son, not a pawn."

"Then leave. Go back to your "real family". Go be a big brother to the demon brat Naruto." Fugaku scoffed.

"What? No! Itachi, don't go!" Sasuke cried out. He tried to run towards his brother but his parents held him back. Itachi didn't even try to step towards Sasuke to help him. Instead he turned his back on Sasuke and walked out one of the side doors before shutting it behind himself for good.

The arguing picked up again in the meeting hall once Itachi left. Sasuke tried to thrash against his parents, but they easily overpowered him and forced him out of the meeting room. From there, Fugaku returned to deal with the clan while Mikoto escorted Sasuke up to his room. He shouted at his mom for the first time ever that night and yet she wouldn't give him a straight answer. She shut the bedroom door in his face and Sasuke tore his room asunder in rage.

What was going on? Why was this all happening? What happened to his big brother?

Sasuke cried himself to sleep that night. A small part of him hoped that all would be back to normal the next morning. The world would make sense again.

To his despair, the following morning the sun rose and yet there seemed to be no sunshine in the Uchiha compound.

Sasuke's father and brother were missing during breakfast. His mother simply made for him some buttered toast and sent him off to school. The bright, cheerful air surrounding his mother seemed to have vanished.

As Sasuke walked to school, the sun was shining, yet the youngest Uchiha could swear it was cloudy everywhere he went. He stepped inside the Academy in a trace. Everything looked so surreal, like he was finally seeing the world for what it was. He took his assigned seat in his classroom as his classmates all screamed around him. They were all so loud. He just wanted them to shut up.

"Naruto Namikaze?" The instructor called out, taking roll call.

"Here." Naruto grumbled, snapping Sasuke's attention to the blond son of the Hokage.

The dark-haired boy looked at Naruto like it was the first time he had ever seen the boy. That stupid expression on his face. Those irritating whisker marks on his cheeks. His messy blond hair. It all pissed Sasuke off just to look at the kid. And his name. Namikaze.

All throughout class, Sasuke couldn't stop staring at Naruto as he doodled with his pencil, failed to take notes, and basically acted like nothing mattered in the world. He could just be a goofball and get away with it.

This continued all throughout the morning until the kids were set free by their instructor to have lunch wherever they want on Academy grounds. Without a word, Naruto stood up and walked outside with his fancy bento. Sasuke shoved past his fan girls and followed after him.

He cornered Naruto in the woods right outside the playground. The blond was sitting down with a bento in his lap while Sasuke stood over him.

"What do you want, Uchiha?" Naruto asked, as annoyed by Sasuke's presence as Sasuke was by his.

Sasuke tightened his small fists. His last twelve hours had been a whirlwind typhoon and Naruto was going to scoff at him?

"Give me my brother back, Namikaze." Sasuke demanded.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, not knowing what the most popular boy in his class was going on about.

"Don't Huh me! Dobe!" Sasuke shouted. His rage bubbling up the surface. "You and your dad stole my brother! Now give him back!"

"Get off of me!" Naruto cried as Sasuke grabbed the Hokage's son by the collar. He started grabbing Sasuke by his own collar, which turned into shoving, which turned into fighting. The two boys had to be pulled off of each other by their instructor when he found them after lunch was over.

Both boys were taken to the Principal's office. Sasuke didn't pay attention to the lecture that followed and he didn't care.

His distraught mother picked him up before the Uchiha heir could see whomever picked Naruto up.

Sasuke's mother lectured him again when he got home. Again, Sasuke didn't care to pay attention to her words. He just ate his light supper and went to bed.

The shops in the Uchiha compound didn't open that week. Or the next week. Everyone seemed to stay indoors. Sasuke thought he lived in a ghost town for a while. He would see his mother every evening for a quiet dinner then be sent to his room to play with his toys while Mikoto sat quietly in the living room.

A few nights, Sasuke's father showed up for dinner. One time even for breakfast. Yet Itachi never came back.

On the nights that Sasuke's father ate dinner with them, Sasuke always could hear his parents arguing after he went to bed. He cried some more and held the stuffed dinosaur her outgrew when he was five.

A month later, things seemed to return to normal. The shops in the Uchiha compound all opened up. Mikoto started humming again while she cooked Sasuke's breakfast. Even Fugaku read the paper in silence at the breakfast table just like he always had. It was like Sasuke had awoken from a dream. Yet his big brother still hadn't returned.

The clan heir didn't dare bring up the subject less he brings back the dark clouds. Instead he took his lunch bag and headed off to school like always.

For the rest of the school year, the instructor made sure to keep the Namikaze and the Uchiha on opposite sides of the room. Which suited Sasuke fine. He was seated closer to the front, so he didn't have to look at Naruto's stupid head as he was seated in the back.

The school year passed by. No one in the clan ever talked about Itachi, Shisui, or that night in the meeting hall. Fugaku started taking a greater interest in his younger son's studies. He taught Sasuke all sorts of Fire based ninjutsu known only by the Uchiha. He even taught him how to better use his Sharingan. It was only during these training sessions that Sasuke even realized that he had unlocked his clan's kekki genki thanks to his father noticing.

Of course, soon all that quality time with his father soured as Fugaku expected more and more progress from Sasuke with each passing day. Progress that Sasuke couldn't always keep up with, earning his father's scorn.

Fugaku was now training his son for greater things. He would reach new heights that his clan could only dream of before. Thanks to Fugaku's talks with Minato.

The years passed and all Sasuke had to convince himself that his brother wasn't a figment of his imagination was the photo of him in his bedroom. All the other photos of Itachi had been taken down from the fireplace mantle. Sasuke's disdain for Naruto and the Namikaze clan also dimmed, but was never snuffed out. Even now as he walked along the concrete path, his irrational hated for Naruto still burned bright.

 ** _flashforward_**

"Shannaro!" A girl cried out into the night, jolting Sasuke awake from his trip down memory lane.

"What in the..." Sasuke wondered before he felt the ground shake beneath his feet.

 _'Is this an earthquake?'_ He wondered as he leapt up into the tree branches, searching for the source of the voice. He stopped a hundred yards into the forest where he could observe the scene from a distance. Who did he see, but the pink haired girl from earlier.

 _'It's that nomad girl...But what is she-WOAH!'_ Sasuke thought in astonishment when he witnessed her lift up a refrigerator sized boulder up and toss it like it was nothing.

"Sweet sage...This girl is deadly." Sasuke said to himself as he watched the refrigerator sized boulder crash through the tree where Naruto once stood.

Naruto was standing on top of a tree at the time she threw that boulder

Naruto jumped out of the way at the last possible second, landing on the next tree over just in time for Sakura to send another boulder hurling towards the poor ninja. This time the massive boulder found its mark, but Naruto made sure to be hit by the Boulder feet first. He was sent sailing away with the rick, but managed to scramble over the massive hunk of stone just to enough to let him toss his special kunai back into the arena. Naruto reappeared, crouched over his kunai just in time to take a cannon ball sized rock to the chest, smashing him against a nearby tree trunk.

Even Sasuke had to flinch at that one.

Yet somehow, Naruto managed to roll with the hit. After he hit the tree and slid down the trunk, Naruto rolled along his side and tossed some more shuriken at Sakura.

Sakura was caught off guard and deflected the projectiles with her next handheld boulder. While Naruto clutched his ribs, and ran a zig zag towards Sakura.

 _'My god...I've never seen anyone with that kind of strength. Wait a minute, didn't she say that she was trained by that Sannin Tsunade?'_ Sasuke thought as he continued to watch Sakura lay the smack down on Naruto. Just watching this girl create craters the size of fishing boats and lift up more brick shithouse sized boulders like they were made of pillows pretty much confirmed that for him.

 _'And she's supposed to replace me? Damn...I kinda wanna stay now.'_

"RASENGAN!" He heard Naruto shout at the top of his lungs.

He saw Sakura try to dodge and get clipped in the side by the spiraling chakra sphere, knocking her to the ground and clutching her tummy, yet she still stood up. Ready for more.

 _'She's tough...and strong...'_ Sasuke thought. _'I could use her on my team. Better her than the Dobe and the fan girl.'_

That's when he noticed another figure out of the corner of his eye and turned to face it.

 _'Sharingan.'_ Sasuke thought as his onyx eyes turned bright red with two spinning toes each. The world shifted in color and Sasuke could clearly see a third body of chakra hiding in the tree next to his. Judging by the flow of chakra, he/she didn't notice Sasuke was there, and was too busy spying on the two Jinchuriki to care. When Naruto took another clean hit, the mysterious figure's chakra grew nervous.

 _'Her.'_ Sasuke realized exactly who the other ninja was.

 _'What is she doing here?'_ Sasuke wondered as he slowly started to move in closer.

He grit his teeth. He knew exactly what she was doing here. One again the lavender haired princess of the forbidden Hyuga clan was stalking the golden boy son of the Hokage.

 _'Fucking Naruto.'_ Sasuke thought.

Meanwhile, the two Jinchuriki's had broken off their long-ranged attacks and were now in the middle of an intense match of taijutsu. kicks and punches were flying rapidly as they blocked, dodged or landed blow after blow. However, Sakura had a slight upper hand on Naruto thanks to her chakra enhanced strength Even still, she couldn't deny that Naruto had been trained better, specifically in combat, while her time was split between combat and medicine.

They charged at each other to deliver one final blow. Sakura got in a hard-left hook to his face, while Naruto delivered a hard-left hook to her face. The resulting impact knocked them both back and on their backs.

Hinata Hyuga flinched when she saw her long-time crush fall flat on his back. He looked beaten to Hell and completely exhausted. The romantic in her wanted to leap out of her hiding spot and throw herself upon her love's weary body. To sooth him with her touch and her voice. Yet it was not to be as Naruto and the pink haired brute began to laugh.

"That was awesome!" Sakura laughed as she began to sit up.

"Damn straight!" Naruto chuckled. He couldn't remember the last time he had a fight that was so invigorating. "Wheeeehee...oh man, where did you learn to throw rocks like that? I thought I was done for." He asked as he sat up, feeling sore all over.

"Lady Tsunade, of course. She taught me everything I know." Sakura stated proudly before hocking out a wad of blood and phlegm from her mouth. "What about you? That was one mean left hook you gave me."

"Frog-Fu. Courtesy of my Sannin tutor Pervy Sage." Naruto said as he cracked his neck.

"Toad style, huh? Not bad...ow..." Sakura grunted as she cracked her back.

"Don't tell me your style is Slug Style." Naruto grunted as he reset his dislocated pinky from punching Sakura. "You seemed to solid to be like a slug."

"No, it's not. It's a style Lady Tsunade invented all on her own."

"Solid as a rock. Or some really sturdy tree. It's a miracle I could knock you off balance at all." Naruto praised.

"Hey you weren't bad either. I haven't had a good working over since Lady Tsunade's brutal training."

"Ugh, same." Naruto said as he clutched his bruised ribs. "Pervy Sage has been taking it easy on me ever since my Dad went into a coma."

"So, you're rusty is-ow... is what you're saying." Sakura said as she started healing her broken collar bone.

"Nah, just needed a good work out. So thanksssssss." Naruto hissed as soon as he lowered his hand to cover his bottom right rib and found that it was indeed broken.

"Yea, but I think we overdid it a little bit..."

"I thought it was a good show." A familiar voice said behind Sakura.

Kakashi. He isn't going to be there long so no worries.

Sakura turned around to see the silver haired masked man who would be her Jounin sensei.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted. "You really surprised me. That's some talent you've got."

"Thank you, sir. It's all thanks to Lady Tsunade's training." Sakura said.

"I'm sure it is. Say, we have a B rank mission coming up in a few days. How would you like to join us? Lord 4th already cleared you." Kakashi offered.

"What's a B rank?" Sakura asked.

"Less dangerous than an A rank, but more dangerous than a C or D ranked mission." Kakashi explained. "Expect to fight some lesser rogue ninjas and/or protect someone with a title."

"Oh geez...let me guess. It's the one with the kid with the cards..." Naruto groaned.

"No, not him. Something else." Kakashi said, not wanting to spoil the surprise.

"In that case, I'm all game!" Naruto declared.

"Sure! I'll go along." Sakura beamed before wincing in pain. "Once I'm healed that is...ow..."

"Well if you are anything like Naruto it shouldn't take you longer than a single night's rest." Kakashi said.

 _'Like Naruto? what does that mean?'_ Sasuke thought.

"Well, Saiken heals me a great deal, but it takes longer than Kurama." Sakura informed.

 _ **'Excuse me? I can heal you just as well as Kurama can. Hell, I can do it better since I actually care about my host.'**_ Saiken thought, offended.

 _'Oh relax, I'm just joking.'_ Sakura teased.

 _'Saiken? Wait a minute...heals her just like...'_ Sasuke paused when he realized just what she is. _'She's a Jinchuriki...that explains a lot. This girl just keeps getting more and more interesting.'_

"In any case. We will meet tomorrow in the Hokage Tower for our mission assignment. I trust Naruto will be able to guide you there." Kakashi said.

"Leave it to me." Naruto declared.

"Will do, sir." Sakura nodded.

"First rule...Sakura was it?" Kakashi asked, Sakura nodding. "Right. First rule in my squad. Don't call me sir. You can call me Kakashi or sensei. I don't like that formal junk."

"Okay, sensei." Sakura replied.

"Second, and most important." Kakashi stated. "Those who break the rules of ninjas are lower than trash. However, those who do not care for or support their fellow ninjas, are even lower than that."

"I've never heard that. Lady Tsunade always told me to take care of myself."

"Well that won't fly here in this team. If you want to be a ninja, you will have to look out for the well-being of your squad mates before yourself. If you can't do that, I will kick you off my team." Kakashi warned.

"Right, I understand." Sakura nodded.

"Good. I'll see you both tomorrow, bright and early." Kakashi waved before vanishing into thin air, leaving behind only a pile of leaves.

 _'Bright and early. Yeah right.'_ Naruto and Sasuke both collectively thought.

"Bright and early, huh? Like how early?" Sakura asked.

"He told us 6 once, but then we waited until 10." Naruto explained.

"Ah...so he's not the punctual type I take it."

"That would be the running joke, yes." Naruto said as he dusted off his pants.

"Well I'm gonna show up on time. Gotta make a good first impression ya know."

"Hey, I'll be there with you. Just bring a book." Naruto said as he walked over to pick up his shuriken and kunai.

Hinata watched Naruto complete his task, still completely hidden from view from the two she was spying on, thanks to her Byakugan. _'Damn you, Sakura. Naruto will be mine.'_ Hinata thought.

 _'That Sakura is actually kinda cool...'_ Sasuke thought. _'Maybe I'll ask her out...I bet Naruto would get a kick out of that.'_ He smirked.

As Sasuke was thinking up his terrible plan, he failed to notice another pair of eyes watching over him from the next tree over. A pair of onyx eyes hidden behind a porcelain mask. He had technically been off the clock for the past hour but as soon as he noticed his baby brother passing by he couldn't help himself.

 _'Sasuke...'_ Itachi thought as he watched his brother from afar.

* * *

Meanwhile, across town, a father stared at the picture of his son. Fugaku sat at his desk in his private study in the Main House. He always came here when he wanted to think or to remember the simpler times. He held up the framed picture of himself and Itachi, taken when Itachi had just become a Chunin. He was so proud of his eldest son. Just six months from his graduation from the Academy at such a startlingly young age. The future of the clan seemed so bright back then. Itachi shaping up to be the greatest heir their clan had produced in generations. Until Minato had corrupted him against his own family.

 _'Itachi...you could have been my successor. Our clan's greatest leader in its history.'_ Minato thought sadly as he placed the photo back in its locked compartment of his desk. Just in time as well, he sensed his contact outside of his window.

Fugaku stood up and unlocked his window, letting the man dressed in black slip into the room as befits a ninja.

"What do you have for me, Tetsuo?" Fukagu asked the Interrogation Officer he had working as a double agent within Minato's ranks.

"You mean besides the fact that Namikaze brought in another Jinchuriki into our village?" Tetsuo spat as he dusted off his jacket. It still made his skin crawl having to keep up that act that he was understanding of the Jinchuriki. The lot of them needed to be wiped out or sent to die on some far-off island. That's what the young ward of Ibuki thought.

Fugaku raised a curious eyebrow. "A second Jinchuriki you say?"

"Yes sir. A young girl with pink hair said to be the 6 tails Jinchuriki." Tetsuo reported. "She came here with Tsunade Senju and is believed to be trained by her as well."

"I knew that much, but to have her being a Jinchuriki. That is news to me indeed." Fugaku stated as he rubbed his chin.

"Yeah, that's not what I came here to give you though. I've got those files you requested." Tetsuo pulled the out a thick yellow folder from his jacket and handed it to the Uchiha clan leader and Chief of Police.

Fugaku opened the folder and skimmed through a few of the pages, his evil grin growing wider with each page. "Excellent..."

"Everything we have after interrogating Kabuto." Tetsuo said. "You should probably know that your son gave us the bulk of the information."

Fugaku grimaced, but sighed. "No matter. Even without knowing it, he still serves the Uchiha."

* * *

 **Hey all, cmartin here. I wasn't sure if this chapter matched up well, so if anyone sees anything out of place, let us know and we'll correct it.**

 **As for the absence...well...I've been dealing with a lot of personal shit lately as well as working on other things. Including attending a EMT refresher class to get recertified. Anyway, Star Trek is the next to get updated so stay tuned for that.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note from Panda: Wow-zah. Over 200 follows and nearly as many favorites for a story only three chapters long. It's a bit overwhelming and definitely puts the pressure on us to write a fantastic story. Which is part of the reason for its long delay. We had to write this and a few chapters ahead to start fleshing out the plot, then some brainstorming, followed by rewrites, followed by some summer time anxiety, followed by more rewrites. We are going to try to get ch5 out in a timely manner, but we need your help to do it. We need you to review this chapter and tell us what you think. What's good to lift our spirits and propel us further to write, and what's bad so that we can improve and live up to your expectations. You have the power to help us write this story. We will never hold a chapter hostage over number of favorites or reviews, but seeing those numbers tick up really puts a smile on our faces.**

 **Now please, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

The morning came pleasantly for Sakura after she awoke completely rejuvenated thanks to Saiken's chakra. The sunlight peaked through her windows as the bird's tweeted to greet the new day. The nomad girl groaned at the thought of leaving her sinfully comfy bed with its silk sheets, but the loud rapping at the door forced her to wake up.

"Sakura, dear, wake up." Matilda called out as she opened the door, looking livelier than any sane woman had any right to be at this hour.

"Mmmmm...do I have to?" Sakura whined.

"You wanted me to wake you up. Unless you were lying last night when you said you didn't want to be late for your first mission with your team?" Matilda smirked.

Sakura paused for a moment, letting her sleepy brain process what Matilda just said. Then her eyes went wide when it all caught up to her. "ACK! THE MISSION!"

Matilda giggled. "There we go. Breakfast will be ready and on the table by the time you get downstairs."

"Thank you!" Sakura exclaimed as she bolted to the bathroom to get ready.

In a half hour, she was dressed and down the stairs where she was greeted to the usual large spread for breakfast with Kushina and Minato seated at the kitchen table. And yet Naruto was nowhere in sight.

"Hey. Where's Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Good morning to you too." Kushina said over her cup of tea.

"Right. Sorry...good morning." Sakura corrected herself.

"That's better, you'd think that you would be more polite to your future in-laws." Kushina winked. Sakura madly blushed like her head was going to explode.

"You're torturing the poor girl." Minato smirked.

"I-its... a little soon to think about that..." Sakura stammered.

"Perhaps you're right." Kushina teased. "To answer your first question, Naruto is outside doing some quick training with Jiraiya."

"Oh. Wait, when did he get up?" Sakura asked as she sat at the table.

"I believe Jiraiya-sensei had him kicking and screaming out of bed an hour ago. Something about him taking it easy on Naruto. I didn't fully catch his words." Minato admitted before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Taking it easy? I thought he was going hard on him in the beginning when he learned the Rasengan in a week." Sakura mused.

"I think you misunderstood, my master taught Naruto the Rasengan for over a month. In total, it took Naruto three months to master the Rasengan on his own." Minato explained.

"Which is still faster than the time frame you learned it." Kushina said.

Minato smiled. "That is true...that boy has made me proud."

"How long did it take you to master the Rasengan?" Sakura asked.

"It took me three years." Minato said casually.

Sakura looked at Minato, completely stunned. "Three years...?" She breathed out. Then she looked to the window where she knew Naruto was outside somewhere. "And he did it in three months..."

"Well in the defense of my husband, Minato had to invent the Rasengan." Kushina added.

"Even still, that is amazing." Sakura praised. _'He is amazing...'_

 _ **'Is that your crush on him talking?'**_ Saiken teased.

 _'Shut up.'_ Sakura thought.

"Yes, but enough fantasizing about my son. You should eat before you have to leave for your mission." Kushina gestured to the spread of fresh fruit and stacks of stuffed French Toast.

 _ **'Oh my God, I love French Toast. Eat that.'**_ Saiken thought.

 _'Don't have to tell me twice.'_ Sakura thought back before digging in.

The French Toast was scrumptious and the orange juice was fresh squeezed aa Sakura discovered when she finally paused to take a drink. One of the many, many perks of living with the Hokage was the two personal chefs he had on staff, Ayame and her father. The trio sat in a polite silence, each of them enjoying their breakfast too much to speak. You could almost be forgiven for thinking they were the nuclear family of the house.

"So, Sakura, are you excited for your first day with your Genin team?" Minato asked.

Sakura swallowed her last bit of French toast. "I am, actually." She smiled.

"This is usually a big day in a young Kunoichi's life. I should have helped the chefs make a bigger breakfast for you." Kushina said slightly disappointed.

"Oh no, this is fine. Really it is." Sakura waved off.

"Very well. Just be sure to be nice towards your teammates, but also don't be afraid to pop them one if they give you any crap." Kushina advised.

"I may give Sasuke one or two. He's a stuck-up prick."

"Only if he deserves it." Minato said.

"I'll determine that." Sakura smirked as she stood up from the table.

"Oh Sakura, do you think you could bring Naruto and Jiraiya their breakfast? I'm sure at least one of them would be overjoyed to get it from you." Kushina smiled.

"Sure thing." Sakura chirped.

"I'll assemble their plates." Matilda said.

"Thank you, Matilda." Kushina smiled.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside of the house, in the open-air training field, Jiraiya was seated out on the grass with his back to the sunlight and his notebook and pencil in his hands. Next to him was a giant clay pot big enough for three people, which Naruto was doing hand stand push-ups over top with his hands on the rims. The young Jinchuriki gasped as he finished his second to last set, his sweat dripping and filling up inside the pot.

"One more set and you're done for now." Jiraiya instructed.

"Thank God." Naruto muttered as he felt the pot lean to one side so that his left arm was completely extended out.

"Hey!" Naruto cried as he looked over to see Pervy Sage pushing his leg against the pot.

"One armed hand stand push-ups, 25 on each side, then you're done." Jiraiya said casually.

"Awe come on!" Naruto protested.

"Whine again and it'll be 50 on each side." Jiraiya said as he flipped his notebook over to a clean page.

Naruto just grumbled before getting to work.

"Good morning!" Naruto heard a cheerful voice that made his heart skip a beat.

He looked to his right and could see the pink haired angel that invaded his dreams every night.

"Well good morning little lady." Jiraiya smiled.

"I brought you guys some breakfast." Sakura smiled.

"How sweet, that'll be a great motivator for him to finish his morning workout." Jiraiya said as he shook the pot slightly.

Sakura felt bad for Naruto, but could understand Jiraiya's point. Tsunade had trained her in a similar fashion.

"I however will gladly take my French Toast." Jiraiya smiled.

Sakura nodded and handed him his plate.

"Delicious, always count on Ayame-chan to make sweet things the best." Jiraiya smiled as he took a bite.

"Where should I set Naruto's?" Sakura asked.

"Wherever you would like. You could even wait here. Your presence seems to have given a certain blond a second wind." Jiraiya said as Naruto pushed his way through his push-ups.

 _ **'Can't imagine why.'**_ Saiken snickered.

Sakura meanwhile was blushing hard. "I uh...don't know what that would be..."

She then noticed how Naruto was dressed in his workout sleeveless T-shirt and sweat pants. And they both seemed to be dripping with sweat.

 _'Wow...he sure has...been working out...'_ Sakura thought, while on the outside Jiraiya caught her staring at the young blond.

' _Ah, young love.'_ Jiraiya thought as he picked up his notebook to jot something quick down.

 _ **'You can stop drooling anytime now.'**_ Saiken teased.

 _'I am not drooling.'_ Sakura snapped as she wiped her mouth.

 _ **'Suuuure...'**_

"23...24...25!" Naruto declared, signaling to Jiraiya to shift the pot over to the other side.

"So, did Minato let you in on what missions he was assigning you to?" Jiraiya asked Sakura.

"Um...no, I don't think so." Sakura replied.

"We're...18...supposed to...19...do some...20...D rank...21...missions...22...before our...23...B rank...24...mission...25." Naruto informed as he finished his set.

"I hope not 20. I'd like to get to that B-ranked mission." Sakura smirked.

"No, not 20. That was me counting. I think like 5 or 6." Naruto clarified.

"Oh, that's much easier." Sakura said. "What do D-ranked missions typically consist of?"

"Chores for other people..." Naruto grumbled.

Sakura shrugged. "So...what I had been doing in other villages to get money, then."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Simple enough. When do we start?"

"Whenever Kakashi-sensei and the others get here." Naruto stated.

"Alright. Well your breakfast is getting cold."

"Alright, sweet." Naruto said as he flopped down off the pot next to Sakura.

"What was the name of that girl on your team again?" Sakura asked.

"Ami." Naruto said as he took a bite of his French toast.

"Ah, right. Well, all I can say is that she better keep her trap shut or I'll rip it off her face. I don't take kindly to people talking shit to me."

"No arguments from me." Naruto said simply. "Just try not to be too hostile. We need to work with Ami until we both become Chunin."

"Speaking of which. I think that's them now." Jiraiya pointed down the path.

"Yeah..." Naruto said before he did a double take and looked on in horror. "Wait a minute." Naruto scrambled to his feet to check if he was seeing this right.

There they all were. Sasuke, Ami, and…

"Is that Kakashi-sensei? On time?!" Naruto exclaimed like the sign of the end times were upon them.

"Hard to believe eh, Dobe?" Sasuke called out with a smirk.

"And you seem friendly, Teme? Has the world gone mad?"

"No, I'm just as surprised as you are about our sensei being on time for once."

"And you're talking to me in complete sentences and not going, "Hm," all the time?" Naruto added. "Ami, I think those two are enemy spies using a henge."

"Yeah, right. Don't be an idiot." Ami shot.

"Oh thank the Sage, you're still you." Naruto sighed in relief.

"Really...is it so hard to believe I can be on time?" Kakashi deadpanned.

"Yes." Everyone but Sakura said at once.

Kakashi just sweat dropped. "Well...whatever. Sakura, you ready to start your first day?"

"Am I ever." Sakura said enthusiastically.

"Can definitely tell she's a rookie." Ami snickered.

"Play nice, all of you, especially when we are addressing the Hokage." Kakashi lectured.

"Hm..." Sasuke muttered.

"Yes sensei." The others replied.

"You kids have fun." Jiraiya said as he clapped his hands and made the pot vanish in a puff of smoke. "I'm gonna go do some research." He smirked before vanishing himself.

"Pervert..." Sakura grumbled.

"How is he a pervert?" Ami asked, not really knowing what his researched entailed.

"Wait, you don't know?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Know what? He's probably off doing some important Sage research like a new seal or something." Ami said.

Naruto and Sakura just looked at one another before bursting out laughing.

"What's so funny?!" Ami exclaimed.

"Na-nothing..." Naruto giggled. "We...we just remembered a funny joke...hehehe..."

"Ami...you do know that Jiraiya is the author of the Make Out series, right? Just look at the cover of sensei's book." Sasuke pointed out.

"What? Sasuke-kun, that can't be true. He is the Sannin of the Leaf. The last loyal one."

"Hold on, what do you mean the last loyal one?" Sakura asked as she pushed past Kakashi.

"Exactly that. Tsunade abandoned the village and her people and Orochimaru turned traitor." Ami stated.

"I hardly think that's a fair assessment, Ami." Sakura said. "She did return and saved Lord 4th. Now she's running the hospital back to its former glory."

"Yeah, after being forced back." Ami countered.

"And if you knew the kind of life she had you'd understand." Sakura snapped.

"I knew she was sworn to defend this village and she turned her back on it." Ami snapped back. She looked over and saw Sasuke back up from her outburst. "A real ninja like the Uchiha's would never betray their village."

"Don't you give me that bullshit, bitch." Sakura spat as she got right in Ami's face. "She never betrayed the village. Not once. They betrayed her. So before you open your mouth again, you best count your teeth."

"You best get out of my face before I give you a pair of fat lips to match your fat forehead." Ami spat.

"If you're feeling froggy then jump." Sakura spat back.

"Huh? That some kind of nomad saying they use out in the woods?" Ami spat.

"It's a saying older than the both of us. It means if you're gonna talk shit, then you best back up your words. Because if you won't..." Sakura growled before she raised up her chakra infused fist. "I will."

Ami then raised up a kunai. "Just try it."

"Both of you knock it off." Kakashi ordered.

Both girls backed away from one another, not letting their guard down.

"Sakura. Working on a team may be new to you, but you must learn to put aside what you grew up with and not react to every little provocation. Ami, you know better about working together. Picking a fight with Sakura and insulting her mother is not it. The next time I have to tell you about that will be the last time. After that, I will have you both sent back to the Academy. Is that clear?" Kakashi lectured sternly.

The two kunouchi stared at one another for a long time, trying to imagine how they could most painfully kill the other.

"Yes, sensei." They both said.

"Good, what about you two?" Kakashi asked the two boys. "Any childish rants you'd like to get out of the way?"

"I'm good." Naruto said.

"Hm." Sasuke replied.

"Good. Now move. We gotta see Lord 4th about our assignments." Kakashi ordered.

The kids all nodded and followed their Jounin-sensei back to the house where Kushina and Minato were still enjoying their breakfast.

"Why, it's little Kakashi." Kushina smiled.

"Lady Kushina, please don't call me that in front of my students." Kakashi groaned, earning giggles from Naruto and Sakura. All the while, Minato snuck a quick glance at the young Uchiha before returning his glaze towards his morning paper.

"So what brings you here?" Minato asked.

"Lord Hokage, Lady Kushina, Team 7 reporting for duty and their mission assignments for today." Kakashi spoke formally.

"Ah yes. Let's see here." Minato said before putting down his morning paper. He picked up several mission folders and handed them to Kakashi.

"Your first mission is to get groceries for Choza Akimichi. After that, Tora the cat got loose again. So I'll need you to find him. Then it's helping Mrs. Yamanaka with some plants that need moving. Then it's to the hospital to bathe patients who can't move on their own. Sakura is the most experienced with hospital duties so she'll be in charge of that mission. Lastly, help the post office with mail delivery." Minato listed off.

The kids all groaned at that mission, especially at the mention of Tora that cat.

"What are you all groaning about?" Sakura asked.

"As much as I can't stand you, even I wouldn't wish Tora the terror on you." Ami said.

"Sage of Six Paths, one cat can't be that bad." Sakura said skeptically.

"You have no idea...that cat is a demon." Sasuke stated.

"Jeez, even you?" Sakura asked.

"What they said. I still have scabs from the last encounter." Naruto agreed.

"Believe me. If there is one thing we all can agree on, is that Tora is a menace." Ami stated.

"That and Kakashi-sensei is always late." Naruto added.

"That too." Sasuke nodded.

Sakura just scoffed. "After going up against Orochimaru's snake, I think a cat will be child's play."

Sasuke and Ami both went wide eyed.

"You fought against Orochimaru?" Ami asked.

"And lived?" Sasuke added.

"Well somebody had to keep this Baka from dying." Sakura smirked, pointing to Naruto.

"Yes, I read Jiraiya's report on that. You did exceptionally well to stand up to a Sanin. There are few who can." Minato confirmed.

Ami couldn't believe what she was hearing. _'What in the Hell is this bitch...'_

 _'What the Hell is with this Dobe?'_ Sasuke thought.

"At any rate, you kids best get those missions done if you want that B rank by noon." Minato said.

"Fine, dad." Naruto sighed.

"Dismissed." Minato said before getting back to his paper.

"Minato-sensei...may I have a word with you?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course, would you kids like some breakfast while we talk?" Minato offered.

"Yes please." Ami nodded.

"I already ate." Sasuke said.

"Very well." Kushina said. "Matilda, could you get them set up in the main dining room?"

"Of course, M'lady." Matilda smiled.

While the Genin were shuffled off to the next room, Minato put his paper down for Kakashi's sake.

"What's on your mind, Kakashi?" Minato asked.

"Sensei...was it a good idea to have Sakura on my team? I mean, yes she would be a valuable asset, but she and Ami are at each other's throats. I'm afraid they might kill one another."

"I had the same concerns when he put Sasuke on the same team with my son." Kushina spoke up.

"Sasuke doesn't seem to mind Sakura and he doesn't really say much to Naruto. My main concern is...if they go on this B rank mission, Ami might do something to get everyone killed. Every fight she has between her and Sakura, she's the main instigator." Kakashi stated.

"Is it something you can't handle, Kakashi?" Minato asked. "That was the whole reason I had them assigned to you was because of their faults and I knew with your teaching you can bring them together."

"I thought you did it because of our obvious attempts at getting Sakura together with our son?" Kushina pointed out.

"That was only a small part of it. The main reason was to get her accustomed to working with other ninja and to get the rest of the team to realize that you can't judge a book by its cover. I've taught Naruto that much, but it seems Sasuke and Ami have yet to learn that."

"They learned that with Naruto." Kushina said.

"Not well enough, I'm afraid." Kakashi sighed.

"What do you mean?" Kushina asked.

"Exactly what I said. Even now they still give Naruto a hard time and now, Ami at least, is targeting Sakura. Just a few moments ago, they were at literally at each other's throats. However, I'm certain Sakura would have won that fight and that wouldn't look good for you, Sensei." Kakashi said honestly.

"I'm aware of that...Ami's upbringing also has an impact on that as well..." Minato mused.

"What are you going to do?" Kushina asked.

Minato thought it over for a minute before deciding. "I am confident that she can work well with her team during this upcoming mission. She's never had an issue with that before. Despite Sakura possibly posing a threat to her, she will still maintain a level head when in combat. If I am wrong and she acts out of line, then I will have her placed elsewhere."

"I'm keep an eye on them, Sensei. This isn't something that can be fixed over night, but you didn't give up on Team 7 and neither will I." Kakashi stated.

"Good to hear." Minato smiled. "Now get to work."

"Yes, sir." Kakashi bowed before his Sensei and Hokage.

* * *

Sometime later, all of team 7 was on their way to the local market to pick up the list of groceries that Choza had already ordered. Their job was just to pick them up and deliver them.

"Literally a piece of cake." Sakura said as they headed for the grocery store address.

Once they got there, they found 6 crates loaded with food. All of them had the Akimichi clan symbol on the sides.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me..." Ami groaned.

"What's the problem? It's only a few crates." Sakura stated like it was no big deal.

"Are you kidding? This will take us all two trips at least. And the Akimichi clan compound is halfway across the village." Ami complained.

Sakura just rolled her eyes before lifting two crates onto her shoulders like they weighed less than five pounds. "Don't be such a baby."

"Seriously." Naruto said as he picked up two crates as well. His Toad Sage training wasn't just for show.

Ami's jaw hit the floor while Sasuke stiffened up.

"You know, for someone who wants to kick my ass, you must not be a very good ninja if you complain about a few measly crates." Sakura smirked before following Naruto to the Akimichi compound.

"Grrr..." Sasuke growled as he grabbed both crates and threw them over his shoulders.

"I-WAIT A MINUTE! Where's my crates?!" Ami protested.

"Snooze you lose..." Sasuke grunted before he followed after Sakura and Naruto.

"Man this is stupid!" Ami pouted.

"You had plenty of opportunity to take one but all you wanted to do is complain." Kakashi pointed out before walking to catch up.

"Ami, you wanna take one of my crates?" Naruto offered.

Ami just glared daggers at Naruto's offering before she saw Kakashi turn around and give her a stern look.

"Fine..." Ami sighed before attempting to take the crate.

"Can't handle it, Dobe?" Sasuke sneered as he struggled underneath the weight of his own cargo.

"I should ask you that." Naruto shot back.

"Sigh..." Kakashi sighed as he pulled out his little orange book.

"Tch..." Sasuke scoffed before he started to stomp away.

Naruto then showed off by lifting his crate up with one arm over his head.

"That's a light one, Ami. You should be able to carry that." Naruto said.

"I AM carrying it." She snapped.

"Okay! Just trying to help." Naruto defended.

"Seriously, he was just trying to help." Sakura added.

"Shut up." Ami spat before walking away with her crate.

"Where are you going? The clan compound is this way!" Sakura called out.

"No its not, she is going the right way." Naruto corrected.

"Oh..." Sakura said sheepishly.

Naruto smiled. "Come on. The sooner we can get these delivered the sooner we can move onto the next mission."

"Right." Sakura smiled before the two of them took off running after the rest of their team.

* * *

"Oh, thank you so much." A large woman greeted them at the gate to the Akimichi clan compound.

"No problem." Naruto grinned. "Where's Choji?"

"Oh, he's off with his own team. How's your mother?" Mrs. Akimichi asked.

"She's getting better every day thanks to Lady Tsunade and Shizune." Naruto smiled.

"Well that's very good to hear. I miss our walks around town." She smiled before she noticed the girl with the pink hair. "Well, you're a pretty face I haven't seen before. What's your name?"

"Sakura Haruno, ma'am." Sakura said politely.

"Such a pretty name. Are you here with your parents?"

"Yes, my mother and my older sister." Sakura said.

"Oh, how wonderful. Perhaps I can meet them." Mrs. Akimichi said brightly.

"Anytime you wish, I'm sure they would love to meet you." Sakura smiled.

"I look forward to it." Mrs. Akimichi smiled before she dug out four apples. "I'm sure you 4 must be hungry. These are yours to have."

"Thank you, Mrs. Akimichi." Naruto said as he took an apple.

"Thank you very much." Sakura smiled as she took one, followed by Sasuke and Ami.

"Enjoy your payment." Mrs. Akimichi smiled.

"We will. Thank you." Ami smiled.

The team walked away and Sakura realized something. "Wait, we didn't get paid."

"We do after we turn the mission in." Kakashi stated.

"Oh...I'm used to getting paid after a job." Sakura admitted.

"Well... _crunch_ ...these apples are a good tip." Naruto said.

"Hm..." Sasuke muttered.

"For once I agree." Ami said as she took a bite of hers.

"Don't sound too disappointed in yourself." Sakura said.

"Well I didn't just carry two crates of food like they were feathers halfway across town. How is it that you didn't even break a sweat when Sasuke-kun and I nearly broke our backs?"

"Seems like training with Sannin has its benefits." Sakura smirked. Earning herself a fist bump from Naruto.

"Yeah, seriously. I thought Pervy Sage was just full of hot air, but it seems he was right." Naruto agreed.

"Okay, seriously. Why do you call him that?" Ami asked just before they heard a lot of girls screaming in the Steaming Leaves bath house as they walked by it.

"WAIT I CAN EXPLAIN!" They heard a man shout before someone knocked him out of the door and at their feet. Ami took one look and saw that it was none other than Jiraiya himself.

"That's why." Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all said at the same time.

"Peeping in on the woman's bath again, Pervy Sage?" Naruto smirked.

"Research, you cheeky brat." Jiraiya spat automatically.

"Wait...THAT'S YOUR RESEARCH?!" Ami cried out, her face beet red.

"I told you he wrote the Make Out series..." Sasuke deadpanned.

"I thought you were joking!" Ami exclaimed.

"Nonsense. It's my best seller." Jiraiya boasted, pulling out a copy from his vest.

"And since when does Sasuke joke?" Naruto asked.

"Always!" Ami exclaimed.

"I have never joked once. You are just too blind by your feelings to see that I can't stand to be near you." Sasuke stated harshly.

"See..." Ami gestured towards Sasuke.

"Oh my God..." Sakura covered her face.

"You must be more of an idiot than Naruto..." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Look, I don't have time for any of your games. There is a rare beauty that left the bath house earlier that I need to follow up on." Jiraiya said before vanishing and leaving behind a handful of leaves.

"Ever the pervert..." Sakura sighed.

"Yup..." Naruto said.

"And... all this time...I thought..." Ami stammered in embarrassment.

"Well just hope that he didn't spy on you." Sakura said.

"ACK! DID HE?!" Ami exclaimed as her entire head was now beet red.

"No. Lord Jiraiya maybe many things, but he is not a pedophile." Kakashi reassured as he casually turned the page in his book.

"Somehow that hardly reassures me." Sakura shivered.

"Just ask Lady Tsunade about their younger days. I'm sure you'll find the story rather entertaining." Kakashi stated.

"Like what?" Sakura asked, her curiosity peaked. She had never asked about Tsunade's younger days. Any time before Tsunade left the village was a taboo topic among their traveling trio.

"As the story is told by her, Lady Tsunade caught Lord Jiraiya spying on her while she was in the bath. She broke all four of his limbs and shattered every rib he had. He was lucky to escape with his life." Kakashi explained casually.

"Wait, I think he's mentioned that to me before. He says that it's the closest he's ever come to death." Naruto added.

"Yup. That's what he said." Kakashi confirmed.

"And don't think it will be any different with me, mister." Sakura said sternly to Naruto.

"What did I do?" Naruto asked.

"I'm just giving you fair warning the next time you decide to walk in on me while I'm in the bathroom. Seeing as you like to conveniently forget. Need I remind you of last night?" Sakura pointed out.

"I was trying to find you for dinner!" Naruto defended.

"Well next time knock! Don't come barging in while I'm in the shower!"

"Wait...you two live together?" Ami asked.

"Yeah. I thought you knew." Sakura stated.

"No, what kind of screwed up situation do you have at home?" Ami asked.

"Because I didn't want to share a hotel room with Lady Tsunade and Shizune. Is that a problem? I have my own room you know...plus its only temporary until we all get our own house."

"Seriously. They literally just got here a week ago." Naruto added.

"Well what the Hell makes you so special that you get to live in the Hokage's mansion alongside his family?" Ami asked.

"Why? You jealous or something?" Sakura smirked.

"Of living with someone as important as the Hokage, maybe."

"Oh really? So I guess 'Sasuke-kun' and his family aren't as important as the Hokage then."

"I didn't say that. Unlike a nomad like you, I respect the position of Hokage." Ami huffed.

"You implied it." Sasuke spoke.

"Sasuke-kun, I didn't. Your clan is the greatest in the village's history!" Ami proclaimed.

"Hm..." Sasuke just muttered.

"Gag me." Sakura muttered to Naruto.

"Then who will gag me?" Naruto muttered back.

"That's your problem." Sakura teased.

"You kids enjoy your break?" Kakashi asked. "Because we have 5 more D ranked missions to complete."

"Yeah, we're ready." Naruto said.

 _'Thank God.'_ Kakashi thought. "Alright, what's next?"

 _'Not the cat, not the cat, not the cat...'_ Naruto, Ami and Sasuke all collectively thought.

"I think you said something about some cat we need to find." Sakura said.

"Urrrrggghhh..." The original Genin trio groaned.

"Ah right. Tora ran away from his owner and needs to be found." Kakashi said.

 _'Goddammit Sakura...'_ The original trio thought.

"Seems simple enough. What does he look like?" Sakura asked.

"Brown short-hair with a red ribbon around his neck." Kakashi informed.

"Perfect. Let's get to it then." Sakura said.

"Yaayyy..." The trio groaned.

* * *

Not 30 minutes later...

"IM GONNA KILL THAT FUCKING CAT!" Sakura screamed as she was being held back by all of Team 7.

"Damn it, Sakura! We need him alive!" Naruto cried as Tora scurried away from his latest confrontation with Sakura. Where he landed a third bloody claw mark across her face.

"I don't care! I'm gonna use his pelt as a jump rope when I'm done with him!"

"Will you stop acting an idiot?! It's just a cat!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Bite me! And quit copping a feel!" Sakura shouted as she noticed Sasuke's left hand on her left breast.

"Sorry!" Sasuke shouted in an annoyed kind of embarrassed as he readjusted his hand.

"I... I can't hold her..." Ami grunted.

"Sakura-chan! You need to calm down! That cat belongs to the Fire Daimyo's wife!" Naruto exclaimed. "If that cat dies then we're ALL screwed six ways till Sunday."

"Damn it! This isn't over, cat!" Sakura shook her fist at the hated feline.

Sakura started to relax, giving the others the opportunity to collapse from exhaustion from trying to hold her back.

"Sweat Sage...How can she...Be this strong..." Ami panted.

"Tsunade's Ass Kicking Training." Sakura declared proudly.

"I'll say..." Sasuke gasped.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me." Sakura said before slugging Sasuke in the gut. "THATS FOR GRABBING MY CHEST!"

"Bitch! How dare you punch Sasuke-kun!" Ami cried.

"He grabbed my chest! Like you wouldn't have done the same."

"I said I was sorry..." Sasuke wheezed.

"Damn right you're sorry." Sakura huffed.

 _'Damn, that girl hits like a freight train...'_ Sasuke thought.

"Why you..." Ami growled. She was about to lunge when Sasuke stopped her.

"Drop it..." Sasuke wheezed.

"But Sasuke-kun..."

"It was technically my fault...It was an accident, but my fault regardless...So just drop it."

Everyone just blinked at Sasuke.

"Okay I must have hit my head during training this morning. You guys are all acting way out of character." Naruto said.

"Sasuke-kun…" Ami gasped.

Sasuke pulled her down to whisper in her ear so only she could hear him. "I overheard Kakashi-sensei and the Hokage talking this morning. If you don't make nice with Sakura, then your position on this team is in Jeopardy...And I know you don't want that."

"I don't care about this team. I only want to be on your team." Ami whispered back.

"And you won't get that unless you make nice with her. Just fake it if you must, but if you don't, then you'll end up being forcibly transferred or back in the Academy. Take your pick."

"Alright." Ami sighed.

"Good...now just drop it."

"You, uh...didn't really grab her chest did you?" Ami asked.

Sasuke blushed for a moment. "By accident..." He whispered.

Ami gasped. "Why?!"

"Because we don't get paid if she kills Tora. Try not to over think it." Sasuke stood up.

"It's because hers are bigger, isn't it." Ami hissed.

"What? No! It has nothing to do with that!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Are you two lovebirds done? I wanna get this damn cat sometime today." Sakura said impatiently.

"Do you have an idea to catch him?" Naruto asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Can you summon toads?" Sakura asked.

"Um...kinda..." Naruto said sheepishly.

Sakura just sighed. "Well, luckily I can summon slugs."

"Ewww...slugs are gross..." Ami said in disgust.

"But useful. What are you thinking?" Sasuke asked, now intrigued to hear her plan.

"Give me a second." Sakura said before biting down on her thumb and slamming her hand down on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" She cried before a cloud of smoke exploded from where her hand was. When the smoke cleared, a lion sized slug was in its place.

"Hello, Lady Sakura. What can I do for you?" The slug asked.

"Hello Katsuki. I need you to help us with a plan to catch a demon of a cat. Got any suggestions?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm...you know, I'm not really one to do this kind of thing." Katsuki said.

"I know it's an unusual request, but we need to catch this cat for a mission. I'll explain later."

"Alright...let's see...I can divide myself up and create a bubble trap for him. The bubbles will make him stick to anything like glue so he can't run away." Katsuki suggested.

"Good plan, but we really don't want to bathe this cat." Sasuke said.

"I can cancel the jutsu so it won't leave anything on him." Katsuki said.

"Great, that doesn't help us find the cat though." Ami pointed out.

"I've got that covered." Sasuke said.

"How?" Sakura asked.

"This..." Sasuke smirked as his eyes turned red.

"And that is what?" Sakura asked.

"His Sharingan." Naruto said. "Don't worry if you don't know what that is, Teme will explain."

"Yeah, I have no idea what it is." Sakura stated.

"The Sharingan is the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha clan. It is the most powerful and deadly Kekki Genki in existence." Sasuke began his rant.

"Then how come I've never heard of it?" Sakura asked.

' _ **Don't underestimate the Sharingan, or their users. They are scary powerful. Their Genjutsus are so powerful that they could even make a Tailed Beast like me submit.'**_ Saiken said to her.

 _'No way.'_ Sakura thought back.

"And has kept the Leaf village safe ever since." Sasuke finished droning.

"Right..." Sakura sighed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You'd better." Sasuke smirked, his Uchiha pride shining through.

"Okay then, enough dilly dallying, let's go get that cat." Naruto proclaimed.

* * *

Another ten minutes later...

"Let me go! I'll skin him alive!" Naruto cried as Sakura, Sasuke, and Ami had to hold him back while Kakashi held onto the cat by the scruff of its neck.

"And you yelled at me!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Good work team. I'll go drop Tora off and you four get to work on the next assignment." Kakashi said.

"Which is hospital duty." Naruto said as he stopped flailing.

"Yup. And Sakura is in charge of that one based upon her experience." Kakashi said before jumping away.

"Sure, why not? Can't be any worse than cat chasing." Ami reasoned.

"It's bath day for the mobility impaired." Sakura informed. "You have to give patients sponge baths."

Ami gulped. "I-it's not the elderly, is it?"

"It's all age groups." Sakura groaned.

"Oh no...I'm not giving some old lady a bath." Naruto said firmly.

"You wouldn't anyway. Males will bathe the males and females will bathe the females." Sakura clarified.

"That's even worse!" Naruto exclaimed, voicing everyone's opinion.

"You will each be accompanied by an orderly. They will take care of the private areas, your job is to focus everywhere else. Oh and be cautious. Sometimes you'll get one who may have soiled themselves."

The original trio all groaned before making their way to the hospital.

* * *

After a little ways walking, they made it to the front door of the hospital where Shizune was waiting outside for them.

"Hey big sis." Sakura called out.

"Hi Sakura. How's your first day going?" Shizune asked.

"Besides running after a demon cat, not bad."

"Word around the grape vine is that is an infamous mission among Genin teams." Shizune giggled.

"Oh yeah...I wish that cat would die." Ami grumbled.

"Agreed." Everyone except Shizune nodded.

 **"ATTENTION. CODE BLUE IN ROOM 35. CODE BLUE IN ROOM 35."** They heard over the PA.

"What's that mean?" Ami asked.

"It means we need to haul ass!" Sakura ordered before she and Shizune took off running to that room.

The others could see their urgency and quickly followed behind them. They weren't sure what this code blue meant, but it must be serious.

After running down a long hallway and making a sharp right, they found themselves in a room with two nurses around a man they were performing CPR on.

"Nurse. Sit rep." Shizune ordered.

"He went into cardiac arrest. We defibrillator once, no change." The nurse informed.

"Sakura, take over compression's." Shizune ordered.

"On it." Sakura said as she leapt onto the bed and straddled the man in order to perform chest compression's.

"Do any of you know how to use lightning chakra?" Shizune asked the trio.

"I can." Sasuke said.

"How fast can you learn the Defibrillator Jutsu?" Shizune asked.

"As fast as you need me to." Sasuke answered.

"Nurse! 12 cc's epinephrine!" Sakura ordered.

"Yes m'lady!" The nurse quickly acknowledged.

"Alright, follow my instructions precisely." Shizune instructed to Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded and watched closely as Shizune went through a set of hand signs.

"Make sure your chakra output is precise. Too much and it will fry his heart. Too little and it won't have the desired effect." Shizune instructed

"Got it." Sasuke said.

Sasuke channeled his chakra to what he thought was a good level.

"No, that's too much. Pull back some." Shizune said.

"Ami, Naruto, wait outside." Sakura ordered.

"Alright." Ami nodded.

Naruto followed close behind.

"Okay, that level is perfect. Get ready. Sakura, get ready for shock!"

Sakura leapt off the patient. "Clear!"

Sasuke weaved through the hand signs perfectly and his hands arced with electricity.

"Okay. One hand on the upper right part of his chest and the other on the lower left side of his ribcage." Shizune instructed.

"Right." Sasuke said.

Sasuke placed his palms in the exact spots Shizune told him to and his shock was delivered, causing the man to jolt violently.

"Still in V-Fib." Sakura reported as she watched the monitor.

"Nurse, 1 amp bicarb." Shizune ordered.

The nurse quickly administered the drug while Sakura continued compression's. Sasuke meanwhile, was in a state of shock.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called out.

"Huh? What?"

"I need you to shock him again. Hurry!" Sakura ordered.

"Oh, right." Sasuke said, regaining his composure before creating the jutsu again.

"Clear!" Sakura shouted just as Sasuke zapped him.

"Sinus rhythm." Sakura reported.

"Print out a strip." Shizune ordered.

Sakura pressed a button on the monitor to have a EKG strip printed out. That was when it started feeding out a narrow, long strip of paper which Sasuke could only see as zigzag lines.

"Upper bundle branch block with moderate ST Elevation." Sakura reported.

"I'll contact the cardiac unit. You two did a great job." Shizune praised.

"Thank you, sis. If we're not needed, we'll be doing what we originally came here to do." Sakura said.

"We've got it under control now. Thanks again."

"Hey, where is everyone else?" Sakura asked.

Shizune sighed. "We're swamped today and short staffed. I'm glad you came though."

"Anything to help." Sakura smiled before she led Sasuke out of the room and into the hall where Naruto and Ami were waiting.

"How did it go?" Naruto asked.

"Thanks to Sasuke learning the defibrillation jutsu in record time, we saved him." Sakura praised.

"Well of course he learned that jutsu in record time. He is the heir to the Uchiha clan." Ami praised.

"Well, whatever the reason, he was very helpful." Sakura said.

"How did you know what to do so quickly?" Sasuke asked.

"In matters of life and death, you can't think about it. You just act without hesitation."

"Very true." Shizune said.

"I have to admit...my opinion of you has changed a little." Ami said truthfully.

"Just like that?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"I had my doubts that you were a medical ninja when you told me. But this proved otherwise. My grandfather was a doctor when Lord 3rd first took office so I have respect for medical professionals." Ami said before smirking. "But you're still a large forehead-ed brute."

"And you're still a bitch." Sakura stated.

"Who's a bitch?" Said a voice behind them that Sakura immediately recognized.

"Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked.

"Who else? I thought you were supposed to be on a mission." Tsunade inquired.

"We are. A series of D ranked missions before our B ranked mission." Sakura said.

"Oh right, I remember requesting a Genin team help out the nurses after the purges." Tsunade said.

"Purges?" Ami asked.

"Had to crack the whip around here. Some staff weren't up to my standards and a few others didn't want to play ball. Left the hospital understaffed for the time being." The Slug Sannin said.

"Wouldn't Shadow Clones make things easier?" Naruto asked in one of his rare moments of brilliance.

"Shadow Clones are not a common skill, not every medical ninja can meet the chakra requirements, not every medical staffer is a ninja, and I need them doing a set quality of work 8 hours straight rather than a big burst of work in a short amount of time." Tsunade answered.

"I can't even use that yet." Sakura stated.

"Oh..." Naruto said sadly.

"It's a good idea for our veteran ninja staff to know though, I'll throw that into the idea bucket." Tsunade said.

"Sounds good. So we're here to...ugh...bathe patients." Sakura grumbled.

"Ah, perfect timing. Today, all I have are cancer patients that need it as well as a couple of stroke victims. Recovery and observation ward." Tsunade stated.

"Great." Naruto sighed.

"Alright, follow me. You coming over for dinner tonight, Mom?" Sakura asked without thinking, making a few passing nurses stop dead in their tracks.

"With the cooks Kushina has? I wouldn't miss it for the world." Tsunade smiled. "A shame you two won't be home though."

"Oh damn...that's right..." Sakura said sadly.

"Hold on a second!" Ami exclaimed. "She is your mother?!"

"Adoptive. I took her in when she was a baby." Tsunade clarified.

"Why?" Ami demanded.

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Tsunade stated.

"It's okay if she knows. Pretty much everyone in our age group knows already." Sakura said before turning to Ami. "A few days after I was born, the 6 tailed slug attacked my village and my parents were killed no one was left to care for me. Lady Tsunade was in the area and heard my cries. Without hesitation, she took me in and raised me as her own daughter."

"Oh..." Ami said. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. I was an infant so I don't remember my family." Sakura waved off.

"Now if that's all, we got work to do." Sakura stated as she led them down the hall.

* * *

An hour later, after their unspeakable act was finished, the three Genin left the hospital, shells of their former selves, with Sakura leading them outside.

"Okay seriously, it wasn't that bad." Sakura scoffed.

"Speak for yourself! I had an old lady throw her basin full of piss at me!" Ami complained.

"And I had to wash a man's nub!" Naruto cried.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he remembered when an old man asked him if Sasuke would like to make even more money in a fun way.

"Oh hush, you're all fine." Sakura said.

"Define fine." Ami grumbled.

"Believe me, I have been through all of that and worse." Sakura said.

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Come back to me when you're elbows deep in someone's chest cavity."

"Let's just move on. What's next?" Naruto asked.

"Yamanaka Flowers. Gonna move some stuff around." Sakura said.

"That has to be too easy, what's the catch?" Natura asked.

"I work there part time so as far as I know there is no catch." Sakura stated. "Unless we gotta listen to Ino."

"That pig? She's probably off with her own team." Ami said.

"Who knows..." Sakura sighed.

"Let's get it over with." Sasuke said.

"Way ahead of you." Sakura said.

"What's next after this?" Naruto asked.

"Post office for deliveries."

"So then why don't we split up and get the jobs done in half the time?" Naruto suggested.

"Because we need to do them as a team, Dobe. Have you learned nothing?" Sasuke stated.

"It's still teamwork, Teme. We don't need four of us to deliver mail or move some stuff from a flower shop. Two each should be fine. We then get both jobs down at once." Naruto argued.

Sasuke sighed. "Fine...I'll go to the flower shop with Sakura, you go with Ami to deliver mail."

"What? Why are you deciding that on your own?" Naruto demanded.

"Because I'm the second in command by rank."

"Ch, fine." Naruto grumbled.

"Sasuke-kun...I should be the one to go with you..." Ami pouted.

"I've made my decision. Now let's just get this done so we can move onto something actually worth my time." Sasuke ordered.

Sakura and Sasuke took to the roofs to take care of the flower shop mission while Naruto and Ami headed towards the post office.

Sakura led the way while Sasuke casually trailed behind her to check her out.

 _'Strong, skillful, pretty...I know I was originally going to ask her out to spite Naruto...But she would be perfect for the clan.'_ Sasuke thought.

Sakura then dropped down to the street once they had arrived at the flower shop.

"This is it I take it." Sasuke assumed.

"Couldn't you tell from the sign?" Sakura deadpanned.

"Hm." Sasuke replied.

Sakura just opened the door and was greeted by Mrs. Yamanaka herself.

"Sakura, how nice to see you again." Mrs. Yamanaka spoke.

"Hi Mrs. Yamanaka. How are you doing today?" Sakura greeted.

"Oh I'm fine dear, what brings you to my shop today? Are you fulfilling that mission request I sent?" Ino's mother said as she motioned for Sakura to come inside.

"That's right. And I brought along some help." Sakura said as she gestured to Sasuke.

"Ah, Sasuke Uchiha. My daughter has told me so much about you." Mrs. Yamanaka smiled.

"Where is Ino actually?" Sakura asked.

"With her team, off doing missions like yours I suppose."

"Oh, well tell her I said hi. We are going on a B-ranked mission after this." Sakura said excitedly.

Ino's mother gasped. "A B rank? On your first day?"

"Come on, Mrs. Yamanaka, this is me we are talking about." Sakura stated.

"I know, but still. Just be safe, okay?"

"We will, I promise." Sakura smiled.

"That's all I ask for." Mrs. Yamanaka smiled. "Well, you know where everything is. I had just planted a bunch of rose bushes into several large pots and they are a little too heavy for me to lift. They're in the back room."

"Alright, leave it to us." Sakura said as she raised her fist in determination.

Sakura politely pushed past Mrs. Yamanaka's 6-month swollen belly, Sasuke followed behind her and made a point to not touch Mrs. Yamanaka's pregnant belly. Not that he was grossed out or scared of a pregnant woman. Just...he felt a distant aunt's pregnant belly once and it freaked him out how solid it was, yet looked so squishy. Then it kicked at him and he never wanted to touch a pregnant woman ever again.

"She won't bite, Sasuke. She's just pregnant." Sakura teased when she noticed how distant he was being.

"I know that." Sasuke snapped as he dashed into the back room.

"Sheesh...Grouch." Sakura frowned. "Always the serious one."

"Shut up. Where are these stupid pot plants?"

"On the shelf in front of you."

Sasuke then grabbed one of the pots and Sakura grabbed two. They were finished inside of 15 minutes and were sent on their way with thank you roses in each hand.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Yamanaka." Sakura waved goodbye as she and Sasuke headed down the street.

"Take care now, and good luck!" Mrs. Yamanaka called back.

"Oh, we will!" Sakura called back. "She's always so nice." She said to Sasuke.

"Hm.." Sasuke muttered.

"Oh come on. Don't you ever have something interesting to say?"

Sasuke was about to snap at her for saying something he thought was so cheeky, but decided he was going to go with his original idea.

"Yes...actually." He started. "How about I take you on a date?"

That make Sakura stop dead in her tracks when she heard that. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said...will you go on a date with me?" Sasuke asked again. For some reason, he was feeling rather nervous. He had girls lining up from all over the village to get a date with him, but he never once asked a girl out.

Sakura just looked at him and blinked a few times. She wasn't expecting to hear that from him. "Uh...that was...honestly the last thing I was expecting to hear from you." She said in mild shock. "But...I'm gonna have to say no."

Now Sasuke was in shock. "No? What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean no. I mean, I'm sure you're a nice guy deep down, but what I've seen so far, you come off as a stuck up jerk. Frankly, you're just not my type. Plus, I have feelings for someone else." Sakura said.

"Who? The Dobe?" Sasuke growled.

"What difference does it make? See, this attitude you have is why I can't understand why any girl would wanna date you. You act as if the world owes you something just because you were born into a powerful clan with a silver spoon in your mouth. Hate to tell you this, but the world doesn't work that way. I've traveled it enough to know. What Ami sees in you I have no idea." Sakura said bluntly.

"Ami is just an idiot." Sasuke growled.

"And I can agree with you on that one to some degree. But it doesn't change the fact that I'm just not interested in you." Sakura said.

"You're actually doing this? You're rejecting me? I'm the heart throb of my generation. Do you know how many kunoichi from this village would kill to date me?"

"Well I'm not from this village, now am I?" Sakura asked, shutting him down for good.

This was a brand-new feeling for Sasuke. Rejection. He would constantly reject the fangirls that lined up to date him every time he turned around, but not once had he ever been rejected before. It was a terrible feeling, one he very much despised. Now he understood how he made the other girls feel over the last couple years.

"Here's a piece of advice...if you want to be in a relationship with someone for a long period of time, you need to get that chip off your shoulder and actually start being nicer to people." Sakura stated.

"Just answer me this...who is it?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura sighed. "If it makes you feel any better...its Naruto."

"I fucking knew it..." Sasuke cursed. _'Dobe. It's always the fucking Dobe.'_ He seethed.

"If you already knew then why did you ask me out?" Sakura asked.

"What difference does it make?" Sasuke bit.

"It might make a great deal of difference, dickhead." Sakura bit back.

"To who?" Sasuke spat.

"It would satisfy my curiosity."

"Too bad." Sasuke said out of spite.

Sakura just glared at him. "And you wonder why I said no."

"Chh..." Sasuke scoffed.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" She heard Naruto call out.

Sakura turned to see Naruto running towards her with Ami close being, the both of them carrying handfuls of letters.

"Still delivering?" Sakura asked.

"Yup, the village is really short staffed ever since the attack." Naruto said as he held up the letters.

"I believe it. We just finished with our job." Sakura informed.

"I think we're going to be a little while longer, unless you'd like to help." Naruto offered.

"Well we got nothing else better to do." Sakura shrugged.

"I'll go alone. You can go with your lover." Sasuke spat as he snatched a bundle of letters from Ami and jumped away.

Sakura meanwhile was stunned. She should have never told him that.

"Sasuke-kun! Wait for me!" Ami shouted as she leapt after him.

"What the hell was that about?" Naruto asked.

Sakura sighed. "After we were done with our job...he asked me out."

"Wh-what?!" Naruto cried. "Sasuke! Sasuke Uchiha asked you out?"

"Yes...and I said no."

"You did? That's great- I mean that's bad- I mean...why? He's the number 1 heart throb in the village." Naruto stammered.

"Because I have feelings for someone else..." Sakura smiled at him.

"Oh...well that's good. He's a lucky guy that so and so..." Naruto said as he stretched his arms over his head trying to look disinterested.

"Oh, he doesn't know how lucky he is. Especially when I tell him how I feel."

"And who is he? Someone you met at the flower shop?"

"No... Someone I met in my travels." Sakura smiled.

"Will I ever get to meet him?" Naruto asked.

Sakura giggled. "You already know him."

"Really? Who?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not telling." Sakura smirked as she turned around on her heel.

 _ **'God you're thick...'**_ Kyuubi said to him.

 _'Shut up.'_ Naruto thought.

 _ **'God, you're cruel.'**_ Saiken thought.

 _'I can't help it if he can't connect the dots.'_ Sakura smirked.

 _ **'Gyuki's shit, you just love torturing him.'**_

 _'It wouldn't be any fun if I just came out and told him, now would it?'_

 _ **'No, I suppose not.'**_ Saiken mused.

"Sakura-chan, wait!" Naruto called as he ran up next to her. "Seriously, who is it?"

"It's..." Sakura said as she became incredibly conscious about how close Naruto's shoulder was to hers.

"What?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"Naruto, Sakura!" A voice called out to them.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked as their mentor approached.

"What's the hold up, you two? We need to get back to the Hokage Tower for our mission." Kakashi said.

"We haven't finished our deliveries yet and Sasuke and Ami are who knows where." Sakura reported.

"We were supposed to report in at noon. Hustle you two. I'll go find Sasuke and Ami." Kakashi said before vanishing.

"Guess we need to motor." Sakura sighed.

"Yup, here, take half." Naruto instructed.

Sakura nodded and took half of his load.

The two dashed along the streets, tossing their letters at their addresses, usually inside the mailboxes too.

* * *

20 minutes later, everyone met up in the Hokage tower to get their mission briefing.

"Your mission reports all look good." Minato said as he set aside the mission reports. "How was their interaction, Kakashi?"

"Somehow, more civil than the original three. So I would call Sakura a good fit." Kakashi said.

"Good to hear. I was hoping to hear that." Minato smiled before grabbing the mission specs for their big mission. "This is an escort mission. The man you are escorting has ties to a drug cartel outside of our country. He no longer belongs to this cartel, however the cartel will be looking for him. Expect this to be a moderate to high risk mission."

"Any reason why you're sending a Genin team?" Kakashi asked before Minato slid 4 personal files towards him.

"Your team has been reevaluated. I suggest you take another look." Minato said.

Kakashi picked up Naruto's file first.

NAME: NAMIKAZE, NARUTO.

RANK: GENIN.

TAIJUTSU: 4

NINJUTSU: 3

GENJUTSU: 1

"Sir, this is Naruto's old record." Kakashi said.

"Keep reading." Minato stated.

Kakashi kept reading and found one more stat.

FUINJUTSU: 3.5

"Well look at that. Naruto, you were recognized as a Seal Ninja. Impressive for your age." Kakashi said. _'Must be for mastering his father's Flying Thunder God Jutsu.'_

Naruto just grinned his ever-widening grin.

Kakashi moved onto Sakura's next. He had yet to see it.

NAME: HARUNO, SAKURA

RANK: GENIN

TAIJUTSU: 5

NINJUTSU: 4

GENJUTSU: 4

MEDICAL NINJUTSU: 5

Kakashi whistled. "Oh my, Sakura. You've got the rankings of a Jounin."

"That's what happens when you're raised by a Sannin." Sakura said simply.

"Yes, although I wouldn't let it go to your head. I see plenty of reason to keep you in your Genin rank for now." Kakashi said.

"I understand. I'm just saying is all. Believe me, after fighting against Orochimaru and Kabuto, I know I'm not quite on Lady Tsunade's level."

"That's not what I meant." Kakashi said as he showed Sakura her file and the stats below her combat stats.

TEAMWORK: 0

LEADERSHIP: 0

STEALTH: 0

"Oh...Well, I've never officially been a Ninja before."

"Well you are now, and this will need to be rectified as soon as possible." Kakashi said. "Thankfully, this mission should prove to be a good proving grounds."

"Right." Sakura nodded.

Kakashi moved onto Ami's file.

NAME: YUMI, AMI

RANK: GENIN

TAIJUTSU: 2

NINJUTSU: 2

GENJUTSU: 1

Kakashi thought that this was just the same old file until he kept reading.

TEAMWORK: 3

LEADERSHIP: 2

STEALTH: 4

"It seems that your stealth ranking has increased." Kakashi praised.

"Thank you, sensei." Ami said respectfully.

Finally, Kakashi moved onto Sasuke's.

NAME: UCHIHA, SASUKE

RANK: CHUNIN

TAIJUTSU: 4

NINJUTSU: 4

GENJUTSU: 3

TEAMWORK: 3

LEADERSHIP: 4

STEALTH: 5

SPECIAL SKILL: SHARINGAN

SENSORY: 3

"Relatively unchanged." Kakashi reported.

"What's that mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Your stealth has increased and you're now recognized as a sensory. Nothing really new there."

"And how do I compare to everyone else?" Sasuke asked again, this time to rub it in the faces of his team.

"Well, let's see...yours states are higher than Naruto's and Ami's. But...Sakura's Taijutsu and Genjutsu are higher than yours. Both your Ninjutsu is the same." Kakashi stated.

"So...wait a minute. If I did my math correctly, overall, Sakura and Sasuke-kun are evenly matched?" Ami asked.

"In terms of combat, yes." Kakashi confirmed.

"Now you see why I've chosen your team specifically for this mission." Minato said.

"Very well, we won't let you down, sir." Kakashi bowed.

"I expect nothing less." Minato smiled. "You leave in one hour. Your contact will meet you at the gate. You are to take him to the border of the Land of Fire and rendezvous with a squad of ANBU who will escort him the rest of the way. Dismissed."

The five ninjas bowed and left to go meet up with their contact, leaving Minato a few brief moments to relax with his paperwork.

"Lord Hokage, your meeting with the Clan Council will begin in 15 minutes." His assistant informed him over his office phone's direct line.

"Understood." Minato responded before sighing heavily.

Reluctantly, he stood up from his Hokage chair and put on the sacred Hokage hat. The weight feeling heavier on his head every day he put it on.

 _'Maybe it is time I hang up the hat...'_ Minato mused to himself. He turned to look out at the Leaf village and the 100,000 people who lived there. Men, women, and children; born and raised in these walls. The countless shinobi who had fought and died to maintain their home. Minato couldn't help but smile. He truly loved this village, warts and all.

 _'I'd be honored to lead you all...if only you'd let me.'_ He thought to the village.

He turned away and headed for the office. His white trench coat trailing behind him.

"All rise for the Forth Hokage." An aid spoke before Minato entered the Clan Council chamber one floor below the Hokage's office and situated right next to the Civilian Council chambers.

"Please be seated." Minato said.

A dozen chairs scrapped the floor as the heads of the leading ninja clans of the Leaf village all took a seat. Minato was the last to be seated as the Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, I speak on behalf of all of the council members when I say how grateful we are that you have regained your health and returned to your position." Hiashi Hyuga spoke.

"Thank you, Hiashi." Minato said respectfully.

"Yes, yes, we are all very grateful. There are more important things to discuss." Fugaku stated bluntly. "The recent attack by the Sound and Sand should not go unabated. I propose we deliver a swift and just retaliation and show them the might of the Leaf."

"Here, here." Tsume Inuzuka slapped her palm against the mahogany conference table.

"No...that is the one thing we cannot afford to do." Minato stated.

The council all turned their heads towards their leader.

"I think you will need to explain that one to us, Minato." Fugaku forcibly suggested.

"The Hidden Sand have already apologized for their attack. They were under the influence of Orochimaru at the time. The Kazekage has sent his grievances for the attack as the Kazekage who was here was Orochimaru in disguise. There is no reason for us to retaliate against the Sand." Minato explained.

"And that makes up the thousands we lost in their sneak attack?" Tsume spat.

"Or our beloved 3rd Hokage?" The new head of the Sarutobi clan, Arinobu spat.

"How would starting a potential 4th war solve this exactly? All it will do is create more bloodshed and the lives of additional loved ones to be lost in the fight." Minato stated seriously. "I'm sure its safe to assume that no one here wants to lose more lives when we're already stretched thin as it is."

"So we should just let this go unanswered?" Choza Akimichi stated.

"The fact of the matter is, our forces are currently stretched too thin to mount any real counterassault against another Great Ninja Nation." Shikaku stated wisely. "Peace is our best option at this point. We beat the Sand and the Sound back, we lost fewer ninjas than they did, and the Sand came to us for peace. We don't have to worry about our honor being tarnished."

"But what about the Sound? Surely they should escape justice after orchestrating this entire debacle." Hiashi stated calmly.

"No, they shouldn't. But the issue with attacking the Sound is that our Intel on them is limited at best. With our troops stretched as thin as they are, we are in no position to mount an assault on anyone as that would leave us defenseless. Our main focus should be to continue with repairs after the assault and continue training our Genin. During that time, I will have my spies gather as much intel on the Sound as possible." Minato stated.

"You already put us in danger by bringing in a second Jinchuriki into our village." Fugaku spat. The room filled with an icy silence as Minato's eyes narrowed at his rival Fugaku.

"That is an incorrect statement." Shikaku spoke up. "Minato was incapacitated. You will recall, Fugaku, that we and the Civilian Council ordered Lord Jiraiya to find Lady Tsunade and bring her back at any cost. There was no way anyone could know beforehand that her returning would include her bringing her ward Sakura Haruno, the Six Tails' Jinchuriki."

"But it was he who allowed her to stay and continues to do so! Under his very roof no less." Fugaku seethed.

"I can assure you that this girl means us no harm." Inoichi spoke. "She works for my wife at our shop and she is probably the sweetest girl you could ever meet."

"Who gives a damn what kind of girl she is? It's the monster within her that is the problem." Tsume stated.

"Let's not forget that the purpose of a Jinchuriki is to keep the tailed beast imprisoned. So long as both Sakura and Naruto draw breath, we are in no danger." Choza stated.

"If Lord Forth did reject this second Jinchuriki living here, then we would lose Lady Tsunade as well. It appears that she sees this girl as a mother would a daughter. Do any of you really wish to lose the greatest medical mind in our village's history, again?" Shibi Aburame stated logically.

The room fell silent once again. That was a statement that no one could argue.

"Thank you, Shibi." Minato said, earning a nod from the stoic bug clan leader.

"With that out of the way, I would like Inoichi to report on what the ANBU T&I department has discovered from the prisoner that our newest Jinchuriki and my son managed to capture and bring back to the Leaf." Minato spoke.

"With pleasure." Inoichi said. "After compiling the intel gathered from ANBU agent Weasel's interrogation of Orochimaru's right hand man Kabuto, we were able to pinpoint the location of several Sound Bases, as well as get an idea of Orochimaru's logistical assets."

"So then why aren't we attacking them now with all our intel?" Tsume demanded.

"Again, we don't have the resources." Shikaku reminded.

"Bullshit we don't. Give me 20 good men and I'll go plucking those Sound bases like weeds from the earth." Tsume declared.

"I've already sent a select few ANBU teams to deal with the smaller Sound bases. This is no time for us to be lashing out wildly at anything that moves." Minato said.

"Once again, you'd rather cower behind our walls instead of taking the advantage we have." Fugaku spat.

"I would have us think carefully about our next move and not throw caution to the wind." Minato stated. "Orochimaru wanted to cripple us in one blow and he nearly succeeded. If we go attacking him now while we aren't prepared we would be playing right into his hands."

"Or we can catch him off guard and take him down once and for all." Fugaku stated.

"I've made up my mind. We will not send any major forces to the Sound village until our military strength is secured, or we receive new intel." Minato stated firmly.

Fugaku glared at Minato. "I eagerly await the day you are thrown out of office and I take over."

"Then you will have to remain eager for a long time, my old friend." Minato stated coldly.

The Jounin clan leaders could all feel the air growing heavy in the room, the amount of Chakra both men were giving off was almost overwhelming.

"I think we had better call that the meeting for now." Shikaku decided.

"Agreed." Shibi said.

* * *

As the Clan Council stood up to leave, outside of the village gates, Team 7 had met up with their contact and were already on their way north towards the border.

His name was Odobu and he was the type of man Sakura had gotten to know well over the years. The fat, sleezy type with long, dark, greasy hair tied up in a ponytail with the robes on of a noble and a sneer that made Sakura and Ami's skin crawl whenever they felt it directed towards him. Despite giving off the aura of a wealthy business man, Odobu had met up with the five shinobi riding a single horse instead of being in a carriage that most business man traveled in.

 _'God this guy is creepy.'_ Ami and Sakura thought in unison.

"Let's pick up the pace, kiddies." Odobu snorted. "I'd like to get to the first town before nightfall."

Naruto looked down at the poor horse having to carry his owner's weight. The skinny chestnut stallion was already trotting as fast as it could go without risking Odobu falling off.

"That's not likely to happen. The nearest town is almost a day away." Kakashi stated.

"So then what the Hell are we supposed to do once the sun goes down?" Odobu asked.

"Set up camp for the night." Kakashi answered.

"Are you mad? I'm not sleeping out on the dirt?" Odobu stated.

"I don't see where you have much of a choice." Kakashi stated. "It's too dangerous to travel at night."

"Why can't you lot just carry me and my horse?" Odobu demanded. "You ninjas are supposed to be strong."

"I'll give you something to carry..." Sakura muttered under her breath.

"If we did that, we would turn ourselves into a bigger target that couldn't react to any incoming threats as effectively." Kakashi explained patiently. "However, by staying in this five pointed star formation like you see us walking, we can most effectively protect you from any angle."

"Right, because these brats can do so much to protect me." Odobu scoffed.

"I assure you, all four of my young pupils are more than qualified to protect you. They each have the strength of at least a Chunin, all for the price of Genin." Kakashi stated.

"Perhaps if they were trained by one of the 3 Sannin I'd believe it." Odobu joked.

"Yeah, if only." Kakashi smiled knowingly from behind the man.

"What are you talking about, Kakashi-sensei? Pervy Sage trained me and Granny Tsunade trained Sakura-chan." Naruto said.

 _ **'It's called, playing someone, dumbass.'**_ Kurama thought.

"Eh? What was that?" Odobu snapped.

"Nothing, sir." Sakura said.

"Who is this...'Pervy Sage' The boy is talking about?" Odobu demanded.

"My tutor." Naruto said, finally kicking in.

"Kind of an odd name...but you say that Tsunade trained Sakura?" Odobu asked before he remembered seeing her with a small purple diamond on her forehead.

"Different Tsunade." Sakura said.

"Indeed..." Odobu mused.

 _'Goddammit Naruto...'_ Everyone thought collectively.

"So, mister...?" Sakura asked.

"My dear, you can call me Odobu-san." Odobu leered.

Naruto glared daggers at the back of the man's head.

Sakura's spine shuddered. "Sure...Odobu...so what brings you into our services?"

"Simple. I have somewhere to be and I didn't want to spend a lot of money." Odobu leered.

 _'Kinda reminds you of Tazuna, doesn't it?'_ Naruto signed to Sasuke and Ami. Ami and Sasuke both nodded. Going by their first C-rank turned A-rank, they made sure to be on the lookout for puddles and stray rabbits.

"You don't care to be more specific? It might help us out knowing what is coming after you." Sakura said.

"Members of the drug cartel I was once with. They are mostly comprised of rogue ninja from various other villages." Odobu informed.

"Which drug cartel?" Naruto asked.

"Why should I tell you?" Odobu spat.

"So we can defend you properly and not be surprised by what comes our way." Kakashi stated.

Odobu grumbled. "The Tekiya..."

"The Peddlers?" Sasuke laughed. "What's a meager gang like that trying to have someone killed?"

"I'm not sure when or where you've faced them, but now they have obtained illegal firearms and use a laundry list of forbidden jutsu's." Kakashi stated grimly.

"My Dad is the Chief of the Konoha Military Police. The Tekiya are a joke to him." Sasuke countered.

"That's his opinion." Naruto said.

"At any rate, we should be on constant alert. Sakura, how is your battle experience?" Kakashi asked.

"Do bar fights count?" Sakura asked. Everyone else sweat dropped.

"So...inexperienced. Strong, but inexperienced." Kakashi deduced.

"Yes, my mother and sister trained me, but we did more running from debt collectors than fighting." Sakura admitted.

"Well, you fought Kabuto and Orochimaru's snake." Naruto reminded.

"Please, you had already beaten Kabuto. And the snake was dazed." Sakura waved off.

"Yeah, but when you powered up like-OW!" Naruto cried when Sakura bopped him on the head.

"Would you brats keep it down. Focus on protecting me. Not gossiping." Odobu lectured.

"Of course, sir. Naruto sometimes can't stop talking. Heh heh..." Sakura laughed nervously before glaring at Naruto. "Isn't that right...you just don't know when to shut up, do you?" She growled.

"Sorry, sorry." Naruto apologized.

 _'My identity of being a Jinchuriki is supposed to be secret, remember?'_ Sakura mouthed.

 _'It slipped out.'_ Naruto signed at her.

 _'Don't do it again...'_

 _'I won't.'_ Naruto promised.

Sakura nodded before reforming her position

The next several hours were largely uneventful. Save for one puddle on the side of the road that Naruto, Sasuke, and Ami steered clear of, the group headed directly north until the sun set over the treetops.

"We'll stop here for the night." Kakashi decided.

"I got the camp fire." Sasuke said.

"I'll go find food." Naruto decided.

"I'll help out Sasuke." Ami stated.

"I'll help out Naruto." Sakura spoke up.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he watched Naruto and Sakura walk away in very close proximity to one another.

 _'Looks like Lady Kushina was right on the money, as usual.'_ Kakashi thought before he summoned five of his dog summons to guard the area.

With Sakura and Naruto, they were walking away from camp to go find some food. be it small game or fish, anything they could cook on the fire would do.

"Sweet Sage, that guy is a pain in the ass." Naruto said as he shoved tree branches out of their way.

"Tell me about it." Sakura said as she kicked a pebble across the forest with a swing of her mighty sandal. "Are clients always this whiny to you ninjas?"

"Actually, they aren't. You get your fair share of annoying ones, sure, but they generally keep to themselves and don't bother complaining about their protection. Especially after they see arrows flying past their skulls."

"So all we've got to do is hold out until his life is in danger and then he will cease his whining?" Sakura asked.

"We can only hope."

"Great."

"Eh, it's not too bad. My team and I had this one mission with this old bridge builder drunk. He wasn't a bad guy once you got to know him, but- Wait." Naruto hissed as he held up his hand to tell Sakura to be quiet while drawing his kunai. Sakura was confused at first, but when she heard a rustling in in the bushes, she brought up her guard.

The bushes continued to rustle and the two young shinobi remained as still as the grave. Waiting...

Sakura's heart nearly jumped when the brown bunny leapt out of the bush.

"Sweet Sage..." Sakura breathed out before she drew out a few senbon needles.

The rabbit's ears perked up at Sakura's voice. Naruto threw his kunai and pierced the bunny's head before it could dart away to safety.

"Got it." Naruto declared.

"Nice, but I think we're going to need more than that." Sakura said before she heard another noise.

 _'All yours.'_ Naruto signed at Sakura.

Sakura turned to where the noise was coming from. It was definitely larger than a rabbit, that much she could tell. Once she saw the bushes moving, she threw her senbon into the bush. She heard what sounded like a grunt from an animal before a thud.

"That sounded way too big to be a rabbit." Naruto said.

Sakura, wasting no time, darted to the bushes. Once she saw what she got, her face beamed.

"Hey alright!" Sakura cheered. Naruto came around the bush and saw 3 needles in the neck of a large 8 point buck.

"Oh bullshit." Naruto cried.

Sakura just stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"No seriously, is this thing domesticated? How did it come so close?" Naruto asked as he observed the dead stag.

"Maybe he was just attracted to my natural charm?" Sakura smirked.

"My foot. You watch, I'll catch a stag twice as big." Naruto declared.

"Is that a challenge?" Sakura asked innocently.

"No, it's a promise." Naruto said as he leapt over the bushes, deeper into the woods.

"Wait a minute! We shouldn't be running off!" Sakura called.

"Shhh..." Naruto whispered back at Sakura as he jumped from tree branch to tree branch, until he finally sensed something.

Naruto stopped atop a tree branch as his eyes zeroed in on another bush. Sakura landed next to Naruto, quiet as a ghost.

 _'Get ready to suck it.'_ Naruto signed before throwing his kunai into the bush. The kunai slipped through the bush and a massive roar pierced the air.

"That...Didn't sound like a deer..." Sakura whispered.

The bush then rose up on its own and the two ninjas noticed the bush was a part of some larger furry back. The massive beast's head turned to reveal it was the head of a bear, as big as a two story house and looking absolutely livid.

"Oh...Whoops..." Naruto gulped.

Sakura sighed. "You had to show off, didn't you..."

"You're the one with dumb luck." Naruto countered as the bear slashed at them with his massive claws.

"I got this." Sakura said as she dodge the claw and delivered a hard chakra enhanced punch to the bears head, caving in its skull and breaking a couple of her fingers.

"Aaaasshhhh..." Sakura hissed in pain.

"ROOOOAAAAAARRRR!" The bear cried, he thrashed about, knocking over a few trees. Sakura was still on the ground, the pain in her arm making her brain fuzzy. One of the flailing bear arms nearly struck her when she was grabbed by Naruto and the two of them vanished with a flash of yellow and pink light.

They both reappeared 50 yards away on another tree branch where Naruto had thrown his special kunai. Sakura looked up to see Naruto's whiskers sharing down at her as he held her in his arms.

"You okay?"

Sakura looked up and into his sparkling blue eyes. The setting sun glistened off of his eyes and looked like the prettiest blue diamonds she had ever seen.

"I am now..." Sakura spoke softly.

"Good, cause he's coming back!" Naruto cried as the bear charged at them through the forest. Naruto threw Sakura up into another tree to safety while he leapt over the rampaging bear. He tossed his kunai into its back as he sailed over the bear.

Sakura righted herself in midair and landed on a safe branch while Naruto landed on the forest floor with the bear. The lumbering beast turned around quickly just as Naruto created one of his Shadow Clones.

"Naruto be careful!" Sakura cried out.

"Don't worry, I got this!" Naruto shouted as he and his clone created a Rasengan. The bear swiped at the two of them, which they back flipped over as they finished the Rasengan. The bear took three more swipes as Naruto's clone stood back to back with his creator, all the while flashing through handsigns. Naruto and the clone then vanished and Sakura saw a burst of light explode against the bear's back. Naruto had Thunder God-ed to his kunai and struck the bear with his Rasengan. The bear howled in pain from the hit from the Rasengan.

"Naruto! Let me help!" Sakura called.

"No! I've got it!" Naruto's clone called before he was hit. The bears paw sailed through the clone and knocked Naruto away, sending him sailing into the tree Sakura was in.

"I've don't got this." Naruto declared from his own private crater.

"I've noticed..." Sakura deadpanned. _'Saiken...First level please.'_

 _ **'You sure that isn't overkill? It's just a dumb animal. Why don't you just run away from it?'**_

 _'I broke my hand on its stupid head and it hurt Naruto. It's personal.'_

 _ **'Need I remind you that you both attacked it first?'**_

 _'Naruto attacked it first by mistake, it attacked him and I retaliated.'_

 _ **'Well, yeah there is that...'**_

 _'That and...There is something odd about this thing. This isn't some ordinary bear. Remember the one we had a run in with back in Tal'Rasha lake a year ago?'_

 _ **'The one that ended up being a mother bear defending her cubs?'**_

 _'No, not that one. The one that destroyed the entire marina.'_

 _ **'That was the same one.'**_

 _'Was it?'_ Sakura wondered.

 _'It was, look for the bear cubs and you could get her to stop.'_ Saiken instructed.

 _'Right.'_ Sakura nodded before leaping away from her tree.

"Sakura, where are you going?" Naruto called out.

"Checking a hunch!" Sakura called back. She leapt around the bear and back towards the spot they had first met the bear. Once there, she looked around for any sign of cubs in the area.

"I'm not seeing anything, Saiken."

 _ **'Keep looking, they might be in a cave or a burrow.'**_

Sakura widened her search pattern, looking under every rock, bush and tree. She even checked the small hills and cliff sides. Up in trees. Nothing.

"I think this bear is just an asshole." Sakura stated.

 _ **'Just keep looking.'**_

"Yeah, meanwhile while I'm searching for a needle in a hay stack, Naruto is still in danger of getting shredded by a homicidal bear!"

"Who are you yelling at?" A voice behind her asked.

Sakura turned around. "Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you and the Dobe. Where is he?"

"Fighting a bear. I'm looking for her cub." Sakura explained.

"What?! You left him alone to fight a bear?!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"He's got it under control. Now help me find her cubs!" Sakura demanded.

"Forget the damn cubs! You don't even know if the bear is a female!"

"And you do?!" Sakura roared.

"Rawr..." A little voice roared.

"Wait...did you hear that?" Sakura whispered.

"Yes." Sasuke said as he activated his Sharingan to detect chakra levels. He then heard the same noise again. He turned to the direction of the noise and saw 3 small bear cubs hiding in a nearby den.

"Sakura! Over here!" Sasuke called out.

Sakura ran to his side. "What did you find?"

"The cubs, what else?"

"Wait, you found them? Where?"

"Right in front of you, are you blind?" Sasuke snapped.

"I can't see in the dark!" Sakura snapped.

Sasuke just growled. "About 35 feet in front of you..."

"You can see in the dark? With those creepy glowing red eyes?" Sakura asked.

"I can see anything that has a life force."

"Even plants?" Sakura asked in wonder.

"People and animals, idiot. Not plants."

"Plants are alive."

"Just go get the stupid cubs and stop asking me stupid questions." Sasuke snapped.

"Fine." Sakura snapped back as she held up her hand and activated her mystic palm technique, illuminating the den. There she found three bear cubs. She couldn't tell their age considering they were as big as Choza Akimichi, but considering the size of the mother, they had to only be a few weeks old.

"Oh my Sage, look at them. They are so cuddly!" Sakura hissed, her eyes sparkling.

"Whatever you do, don't touch them. If your scent gets on them, the mother will attack them." Sasuke warned.

"Then how do we get them to their mother to calm her down?" Sakura asked.

"It's simple. We collect Naruto and get the hell away from her territory." Sasuke said simply.

 _ **'Told you!'**_ Saiken gloated.

"Damn it, fine!" Then Sakura remembered something. "Wait, I bagged a deer somewhere nearby for food. We'll need that, too."

"Fine, we'll grab it later. First we need to rescue the Dobe." Sasuke stated.

"That's fine. I can go get him, if you can watch over the cubs." Sakura said.

Sasuke turned to snap at her for trying to order him around, but froze when his Sharingan locked on her. He could see that her chakra networks were enormous and the color of it was different. Just like...

 _'Just like Naruto's... that explains a lot.'_ Sasuke thought.

"What?" Sakura asked, the look that Sasuke was giving her was creeping her out.

"I think I understand just what you are now." Sasuke stated.

Sakura gulped. "W-what do you mean?"

"I can see chakra with my Sharingan. You and the Dobe have very similar networks and the color is different than normal chakra. You're just like him - a Jinchuriki - aren't you." Sasuke deduced.

"Yes." Sakura said immediately.

"That explains why you're so close to him."

"Can you...Not tell anyone about this?" Sakura begged.

"Why? What's in it for me if I don't?"

Sakura stepped forward and got right in Sasuke's face. "Not having me as an enemy." She said.

"Tch...fine, whatever." Sasuke scoffed. "Just answer me this...does he know? Who else knows about this?"

"Yes he knows...Hinata, Ino, Tenten, Neji, Lee, Kiba, Choji, Shikamaru and Shino know as well. Naruto's parents and Kakashi-sensei know as well." Sakura responded.

"And by proxy, so do their parents...which means my dad knows as well. So the entire Clan Council knows and I assume the heads of the Civilian Council know as well..." Sasuke mused.

"Correct." Sakura nodded.

"Which beast is it?"

"The Six Tailed Slug, Saiken. She's kind and docile in nature unless attacked." Sakura stated.

"Hmmm..." Sasuke said as he walked away.

"I'm gonna go get Naruto now." Sakura said before leaping away.

Sasuke ignored her since he was busy remembering a certain tale his father had once told him about the Tailed Beasts. How they could be completely controlled by those with the Sharingan.

 _ **'You sure that was a wise idea? Telling him about me?'**_ Saiken asked.

 _'I don't know and I don't care. Not when Naruto's life is in danger.'_ Sakura thought as she sprinted back towards Naruto.

 _ **'You may have just ensured his and your danger by talking to that Uchiha.'**_

 _'He already knows about Naruto and Kurama. Why should I be any different?'_

 _ **'Because I heard a disturbing rumor. 12 years ago, an Uchiha with an advanced form of the Sharingan took control of Kurama and attacked the Leaf.'**_

 _'When I was a baby?'_

 _ **'Yes...you see, the truth about me being sealed inside you isn't entirely correct. I was sealed inside you a few weeks after Kurama attacked the Leaf. That attack cited the entire world to randomly started attacking any tailed beast they could find, your village included... I had no choice but to defend myself.'**_

 _'I meant when you were sealed inside me, but you're kidding. All that because of what an Uchiha did?'_ Sakura asked.

 _ **'It wasn't much better before it happened, but yes.'**_

 _'What should I do?'_ Sakura asked.

 _ **'Just focus on the here and now, but keep your eyes peeled on the Uchiha boy.'**_ Saiken instructed.

 _'Right.'_

Sakura made it all the way back to the battle where Naruto was still fighting the mama bear. She watched as Naruto nimbly dodged the bear's claws and fangs like he was dancing. It mesmerized Sakura how gracefully he looked.

 _ **'Focus, dear.'**_ Saiken reminded her.

 _'But he looks so cool.'_ Sakura thought.

 _ **'Yes, I know he does. But those cubs need their mother.'**_

 _'Oh right.'_ Sakura thought. "Naruto!" She called out.

"Kinda busy here, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out.

"Naruto! That bear is a mother protecting her cubs! We need to leave her be!"

"Are you kidding me!" Naruto cried as he scrambled back up a tree, only for the mama bear to smash its roots with her paw.

"I'm serious! I found her cubs!"

Naruto leapt off of the shattered tree and threw his kunai right next to Sakura's head. In a flash, he stood at her side, looking winded.

"So what's the plan? Lure the cubs to their mother with honey?" Naruto asked.

"No. We get that deer and leave her be. She knows where they are, she is feeling threatened because we're in her territory."

"And what about my rabbit?" Naruto demanded. "That was no easy feat either. It's even more challenging because it's a smaller target."

"Well, yeah that too."

Naruto then created another Shadow Clone and had it run straight at the mama bear to grab her attention.

"Hey! Over here you big fat bitch!" Clone Naruto cried as he waved his arms and ran past mama bear.

The bear roared in anger as it started chasing after Naruto's clone.

"Huh...We I guess we just collect our kills and head back to camp." Sakura said, impressed.

"Yeah, really should have done that ten minutes ago. Just don't tell the rest of the team." Naruto said.

"Um...Sasuke already knows. And FYI...He figured out I'm a Jinchuriki."

Naruto sighed heavily. "Great... just what we need."

"Yeah, Saiken told me something's about the Uchiha." Sakura said as she leapt away with Naruto following behind.

"Like what?" Naruto asked.

"Kurama wasn't to blame for the attack on the Leaf."

Naruto looked over at Sakura with a questioning look on his face. "Well of course she would say that. She's a fellow Tailed Beast."

"No, you don't understand. Here, I'll let her explain." Sakura said before her eyes glazed over and turned solid blue.

 **"Hello, Naruto."** Sakura spoke with a new and terrifyingly deep voice.

"Oh sweet Sage, that's creepy." Naruto said.

" **Hush. What I'm about to tell is true and completely serious. Back when Sakura was just a baby and I was newly sealed inside her, I overheard a rumor about the night Kurama attacked your village. They say that the Uchiha were responsible, and I'd bet all six of my tails that it was the real reason that Kurama destroyed so much of your village."** Saiken spoke through Sakura.

"Bullshit." Naruto said. "My father fought Kurama that night and he told me that my mother's seal failed and Kurama escaped."

 **"It failed because of an Uchiha."**

"What makes you think that I would believe you over my parents?" Naruto asked.

Seiken sighed. **"Because they don't know Biju like I do. Hell, everything you modern humans know about us is just one giant lie.**

"The Hell it is. You're all monsters roaming from town to town, gobbling up people and smashing homes." Naruto argued.

 **"That is only what your village and its elders feed you. They never told you that we were created by the Sage of Six Paths himself."**

"What? The who?" Naruto asked.

Sakura's face deadpanned. **"You've never heard of the Sage of Six Paths, have you..."**

"No. Why should I?"

 **"Why should you?! He's only the reason why Shinobi and Chakra exist! Seriously, what do they teach you in that place you call an Academy?"**

"How to be a Shinobi, how to read and write, and the history of the Leaf village." Naruto responded.

 **"Whatever."** Saiken said. **"Look it doesn't matter. The point is that the Sage created us and let us roam the world at our leisure. Which we did, all nine of us. Some of us traveled to the farthest corners of the globe while others stayed closer to the land of our birth. Kurama even stayed behind to watch over the Sage's budding clan for eight generations."**

"Wha...what are you..."

 **"Just...be quiet and listen. This is really important."** Saiken said almost pleadingly.

Naruto was going to protest, but he felt something he never would have dreamed coming from a Tailed Beast. Sincerity. He nodded and let her continue.

 **"After Kurama left the Sage's clan, the humans that once saw us as divine beasts began to hunt us as monsters or try to capture us to be used as weapons. We could find no village for refuge and any forest we hunted in had to be leagues away from the nearest human settlement or we would be attacked again. Some of us, like Kurama, decided to fight back rather than be captured, but that only made the humans hate us more and hunt us more. And on and on this vicious cycle spun until here we are today, 2,000 years later."** Saiken said. Naruto didn't respond. This all came at him like a punch to the gut, yet he couldn't bring himself to outright dismiss it.

Saiken forced Sakura's body to turn away from Naruto. **"Think about that the next time one of the villagers gives you a dirty look."** She said as she headed back to camp.


End file.
